Covers
by Sir Cameron Dragic
Summary: Ami asks Ryuuji to be her fake boyfriend. Of course, nothing quite ever goes according to plan
1. Chapter 1

**Just an idea that popped into my head as I worked on Grind. Hope you guys enjoy!**

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Chapter 1

Don't judge a book by its cover. That's what people usually say, isn't it? How I wish that were true. But, if the past seventeen years have taught me anything, it's that people love to say things, but rarely ever want to put them into application. Take me, for example.

I mean, aside from my appearance, is there really any reason at all to assume that I'm some sort of delinquent or thug? I live with my mom, I cook, and I clean. In other words, I do what every other teenage boy my age normally does. Well, okay, I don't exactly live a normal life, but I don't do anything too far out of the ordinary. So why is it that I am shunned by everyone, just because my bastard father passed me down his looks?

I just want to be normal, you know? I want to hang out with friends and talk to girls without them assuming that I'm attempting a mugging and shoving their purses in my face. And most of all, I want to tell Kushieda Minori how I feel about her. Look, despite how I look, underneath, I'm really just a hopeless romantic who wants his chance at the girl of his dreams. I mean, okay, she's a little eccentric, but that's endearing, right? And she's always nice to me, and she has the prettiest amber eyes I've ever seen in my life.

We met through Kitamura, who just so happens to be my only real friend at school. He's different too, but I guess that's why he and Minori knew each other in the first place. But like Minori, he's a good guy who I genuinely appreciate having around. Sometimes, it helps to be around someone who treats me like I'm just a normal high school student, which I am.

Of course, I can't mention Kitamura without bringing up the girl who has a crush on him, Aisaka Taiga. The two of us have worked together since the beginning of the school year in our mutual goals of confessing our love for Minori and Kitamura respectively, although I'm sad to say that we've both met little progress on either end. Of course, neither of us are one to call it quits so easily, so I guess there's still some hope for both of us.

And finally, there's Kawashima Ami. She's a model, who just so happened to transfer to our school in the middle of the year. With her cerulean hair and developed figure to go along with her beautiful violet eyes, she looks the part of a model, and most of the time, she acts like an airhead, which makes her the most popular girl in school. But I know that she's different underneath the surface, as much as she tries to deny it. She's actually wickedly smart, and cunning to boot, and maybe my understanding of that fact has colored my judgment a bit towards her, because I've always thought of her as being tougher than I could ever hope to be.

So that is why I was so confused as to why I was currently chasing her down after she ran off while we were picking up trash. After all, it seemed like nothing ever fazed the imperturbable Kawashima Ami, so what was different this time? My chest heaved as I gasped for breath, willing my exhausted legs further as cold drops of rain splotched onto my soaked clothes and into my hair. However, none of that mattered as my mind was focused on a singular goal: find Ami.

Suddenly, I saw it. She was crouched down under a bus stop, leaning up against a wooden plank as she peered out occasionally, as if she were searching for something.

"Hey, what's wrong?" I asked as I slowed down to a walk, finally taking some time to catch my breath after a long run, "If you're looking for shelter…"

I didn't have time to finish my sentence before she grabbed my arm and pulled me down forcefully, so that I was crouched down beside her.

"Hey, what was that?" I exclaimed, rubbing my arm gingerly. She really had quite the grip.

However, Ami did not respond with anything more than a shush and placed her finger over her lips, an action I understood immediately and felt obliged to follow, given the frantic look in Ami's eyes. It was an unfamiliar sensation to see Ami get worked up about anything, and thus, I knew that she was serious right now.

Silently, she jabbed a finger at the underpass nearby, where I noticed a familiar looking guy with a camera in his hands.

"Hey, it's that guy from before." I remarked, remembering when we had met him earlier.

Ami bit her lip slightly, as if she was debating whether or not to speak, "To tell the truth, he's a stalker."

"What? Why didn't you tell us earlier?" I whispered back, concern in my voice.

"Because! It's so…frustrating." Ami fired back.

"Frustrating?" I asked, intending to get answers as to why exactly Ami neglected to tell us such an important fact.

"I didn't want to admit that I was letting some freak mess up my life. I had to move because of him. I didn't want to cause trouble for my parents, so I came here to live with some relatives. I've even stopped modeling for the time being." The words spilled out, one after the other, and I watched her eyes snap shut in a combination of fear and anger. Her hands balled up into fists as she continued on, "But after all that, he's still chased me all the way here."

Ami's eyes opened back up to reveal hollowness, almost as if her soul had been sucked out of her. And in essence, it had. I understood immediately how she felt. She was tired, to put it plainly. She had fought for so long, and even now, her opponent refused to yield, and she was on the verge of giving in. I knew that because that's exactly how I felt in the past. No matter how hard I tried, it seemed like I was always going to be seen as a delinquent, despite my best efforts to convince everyone otherwise. There were times when I had felt like giving in as well, because over time, I had grown exhausted of fighting and I had begun to question why exactly I was still fighting. Even now, I still asked the same question of myself every now and then, and to be honest, I still don't know the answer.

"Takasu-kun! Kawashima-san!" Minori's voice ripped through the heaviness of the moment, and the two of us were temporarily snapped out of our thoughts by her words. We tilted our heads upwards to see Taiga and Minori walking down a set of stairs that ran parallel to the underpass.

As they did so, they drew the attention of the stalker, who came out with a large grin on his face that made me want to puke in disgust. I could tell Ami felt the same way because she immediately tensed as Taiga noticed the man's presence.

"What is she doing? He's a stalker." Ami muttered as it seemed that Taiga was getting into an argument with the man.

Without any warning, Taiga swung her garbage bag at the stalker with the intent of striking him down, a testament to the girl's fiery temper. In surprise, the two of us could do nothing but watch as Taiga chased the man down the street.

"That idiot!" I cried out, standing up to help Taiga in case she got into trouble.

However, before I could take a step, Ami's shaky voice stopped me.

"Why?" She breathed, "I mean, isn't she scared? That guy's twisted."

"Kawashima?" I asked, growing genuinely concerned for her.

"Because of him, I had to take time off of work, move, and transfer schools. I get so upset, the stress builds, and I end up binging on snacks." Ami admitted, looking more vulnerable than I had ever seen her before.

"Do you think this means I was defeated by that worthless freak and by Aisaka Taiga?" She asked no one in particular as she stood up.

"Takasu-kun, you just said that I should stop playing nice, didn't you?" She asked, with her wet hair draped over her face.

"Y-yeah." I managed, feeling worried for Ami.

However, that worry was quickly dispelled as Ami's lips curled up into a devilish smile, "I get it now. I do. No more cutesy crap. No more. No more, no more no more, no more." She repeated over and over again.

"From now on, I'll live with this nasty personality of mine! I refuse to let them have the last laugh!" She screamed with fire in her eyes and her normally placid face contorted into a scowl. With that, she started off, bolting into the rain after Taiga, and leaving me speechless as I could do nothing more than to watch her in amazement.

Somehow, I got up to my feet and numbly followed behind, watching as Ami charged past Taiga and Minori, who were not slow by any means, and cornered the stalker, knocking his camera out of his hands and stomping it until it was in pieces with the ruthlessness I had come to expect from her.

After the stalker had scurried off to whatever pathetic corner he had come from, Ami collapsed to her knees, just as I caught up to her.

"Hey, Kawashima!" I cried out, falling to my knees to help steady her quivering body.

"I did it, Takasu-kun." She sighed in relief, "But," she began, "I was scared."

And with that, she angled her face towards me, with tears in her eyes.

* * *

"Here, this'll warm you up." I said as I offered Ami a cup of tea, which she graciously accepted. She gently blew at the piping hot liquid and peered inside, remarking, "Honey preserved kumquats."

My eyebrows arched in interest, impressed at Ami's culinary eye, "How could you tell? Taiga loves this stuff."

"Taiga, you call Aisaka-san by her first name…" Ami mused.

"Do you still think there's something between us?" I asked with a frown, expecting some snarky comment in reply.

But instead, Ami closed her eyes softly, "She's lucky. She's self centered and a total mess, but she doesn't try to hide it. Yet she still has friends. She still has you."

I opened my mouth to reply, but I was cut off my Ami once more, "Takasu-kun, what would you do if I showed you the real me?"

As she asked that question, she gently set down her cup and leaned forward on her arms, "Would you fall for me?"

"K-Kawashima?" I stuttered, realizing that she had suddenly closed the gap between us, and that our faces were inches away, allowing our breaths to intermix as we both took heavy breaths that we desperately needed. I could feel my face redden as I stared into her hypnotic eyes, and I found myself leaning forward as well, in spite of myself.

Before we could come any closer however, we were interrupted by the sound of clothes hitting the floor and immediately, my eyes darted up to see a shocked Taiga standing right behind Ami, staring at us in our compromising position.

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The next day at school was blur, as I couldn't help but to think back at the previous day's events. Ami and I had almost kissed, or at least, I think we did. I was too afraid to ask anyone else about it because, well, I didn't want anyone else to know. Aside from me, Ami, and Taiga, no one knew the truth, and I preferred to keep it that way.

For her part, Ami acted perfectly normal throughout the day. Contrary to what she had told me, she didn't seemed to have changed her personality in any way in public. She was still acting the same way she always had, and I don't blame her. I would never give up any of my friends, and she was doing the same.

Just as the bell rang, signaling the end of the day, I stood up to grab my things and go when I was suddenly blocked by Ami standing in my way.

"Say, Ryuuji, would you like to go out with me?"

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**Ami and Ryuuji are my pairing when it comes to Toradora, if Grind was any indication. For those of you who came from my previous story, I will be finishing Grind in the near future, but this was an idea that came to me and inspired me to write. However, I don't want to continue this if no one is interested, so if you guys want me to continue, please leave a review or PM, and thanks for reading!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Thanks for all of the reviews, guys. I really appreciate each and every one of them! And now, I hope you guys enjoy the continuation of Covers!**

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Chapter 2

"Say, Ryuuji, would you like to go out with me?"

As soon as those words left Ami's lips, all activity and commotion within the classroom stopped immediately, and all gazes were immediately fixed upon me. Some glared at me in jealousy, and others in disgust, while the prevailing majority were staring at me in surprise. Frankly, I would have done the same, if my eyes wide in confusion were any indication. For a second, I thought that I had heard wrong, but from the way that Ami was looking expectantly at me, with a positively radiant smile, I knew that my ears were not deceiving me.

"What?" I managed, despite having heard her clearly the first time. In a panic, I looked around at my fellow classmates for some help. Taiga refused to meet my gaze while Kitamura gave me a thumbs up. Damn it Kitamura, you're supposed to stop her! To my surprise, Minori also gave me a thumbs up from beside him. Not you too, Minori!

"Ryuuji," Ami cooed, drawing out each syllable of my name, "Will you go out with me?"

And with that, the life was sucked out of the room as the gravity of her words finally sunk in for the rest of the class. Kawashima Ami, the resident school idol and object of every male's affections, was really asking out me, Takasu Ryuuji, the intimidating delinquent and object of fear for all of my classmates. It wasn't really hard to understand why everyone had gone into shock.

I swear that I saw one of Ami's friends pass out right on the spot. Maya-san, I think her name was. Anyways, despite all of that, Ami just stood in place, seemingly oblivious to what was occurring all around her, the same unwavering smile still on her face.

I nervously chuckled, "Kawashima-san, you should stop joking around like that."

I mean really, she had to have been joking. There was no way that _the_ Kawashima Ami could actually be asking me out, right? This just has to be a joke, or I'm dreaming. That's it, I'm dreaming! Please tell me that I'm right. Please?

However, Ami gave a small pout that I had to admit was incredibly cute, even in the midst of my situation, "Ryuuji, I'm not kidding."

* * *

The stares are killing me right now. Does everyone really have to be looking in my direction? You're all making this more uncomfortable than it has to be! I'm just as shocked as you are, so can't we just leave it at that?

If you couldn't guess, I said yes, after I had confirmed that I was not dreaming by bashing my head into my desk, an act that I'm sure is going to spread around the school and only add to my fearsome reputation, but as of right now, my reputation is the least of my concerns.

"Say, Ryuuji, what's wrong?" Ami asked from beside me, her small and delicate hand clutching mine, which was drenched in sweat. Needless to say, I was having a silent freak out at the fact that I was walking home, holding hands with Ami.

"I'm just feeling a little uncomfortable." I admitted, although a little might be an understatement. With the way people were gaping at us, it was more like I had been dropped onto another planet where everyone was looking at me as if I were an alien.

For once in my life, I was relieved to have intimidating features, because that meant that with a simple glare, I could instantly send heads turning the other way. But when the entire school was looking at you, that made things very difficult.

Thank God we were right at the school gates. I don't think that I could have lasted much longer with so much focus on me at one time. It's weird. I always thought that being the center of attention was preferable than being shunned, but now, I'm starting to rethink my position.

Ami smirked, "Well, I know a way back home where no one will disturb us."

Was it just me, or was the way she said that extremely suggestive? I know that my teenage mind is probably skewing my senses, but Ami definitely was trying to get at something. Nodding dumbly, I let myself be dragged along by a surprisingly forceful Ami off into a small side street that was completely empty, true to her word.

"Wait," I started, causing both of us to stop in our tracks, "I just have to ask one thing."

She looked at me with that fake smile that she wore so well, "Sure!"

"Wh-why me?" I stammered. In response, Ami leaned forward, until we were mere inches away and my heart was beating furiously.

"Because, you're the only guy who knows the real me." Ami whispered into my ear, causing me to go beet red at her close proximity. As much as I tried my best not to, I couldn't stop my breath from hitching slightly as she did so. Damn it, I'm only a teenager! What was I supposed to do?

"Just kidding!" She laughed, "Actually, it's because I don't want any guys to bother me by asking me out, and everyone would be too scared to talk to me if they knew you were my boyfriend. And besides, you're no threat to actually try to make a move."

Ignoring the jab at my manhood, I sighed, "I guess I can see your point."

"Plus, it would make Minori oh so jealous, now wouldn't it?" Ami added with a sly smirk that revealed all of her true icy demeanor. Damn, she was really scary when she wanted to be.

"Why should that matter to me?" I replied quickly, crossing my arms over my chest in faked indifference.

"Come on Ryuuji, I'm in showbiz, and you aren't fooling me with that!" She chuckled, and in retrospect, I should have remembered that Ami put on a convincing act every day to the public, and that she was going to see right through me.

"How did you know?" I groaned in defeat, knowing that I wouldn't be able to talk my way out of this situation.

Ami raised an eyebrow, "Do you really think that no one notices how much you stare at her? Honestly, I think that the only person who doesn't know is Minori herself."

And with that, my head dropped in shame. Here I thought that I was being subtle in my little glances towards Minori, but I guess that I was completely wrong.

"Anyways, I don't think you're in any position to complain. I mean sure, Minori has no idea of how much you like her," Ami slid up next to me and wrapped herself around my arm once more, displaying her…assets, "But you're dating me, Kawashima Ami. You know, most guys would kill for this chance."

Yup, that's not conceited in the slightest. But of course, Ami was right. I was well aware of the fact that there were likely more than a few obsessed guys currently thinking of a way to get rid of me so that Ami would be single once more.

"Yeah, more than I want to think about." I muttered softly, although Ami, with her acute hearing, picked it up immediately.

"So there, I'm right!" She proclaimed.

You know, with that haughty attitude, she was really starting to remind me of a certain leader of the SOS Brigade with this conversation. I just hope that Ami didn't have the power to shape the world, because I can only imagine the kind of things that she would come up with. And yes, I like Suzumiya Haruhi. Is that such a crime?

I shook my head, "Anyways, how is this going to work? I mean, people will be expecting us to act like a real couple, right? We can't just tell them that we're dating and expect that they'll just buy it."

"Don't underestimate me." She chided, as if I were a small child. Look, I don't need you talking down to me, Ami!

"I've already planned it out. We'll make a big deal of it when we're at school, and we'll go to a family restaurant or something every Friday. That way, people will see us out in public enough to accept that we're going out." She explained, and I actually found myself nodding along.

I mean, aside from the fact that she picked a needlessly convoluted solution that belonged in a shojo manga more than anything, Ami had surprisingly came up with a half decent plan. Although, I half wondered why she had waited until now to put her plan into action, considering that probably half the school had asked her out already.

I opened my mouth to ask her just that when we were interrupted by some familiar voices.

"Yo, Takasu!" Kitamura called out, forcing me and Ami to whip around to see him approaching us, flanked by Minori and Taiga. While he and Minori had their usual blithe grins on their faces, Taiga greeted us with an expression that let us know that she was in one of her irritable moods.

"Hey Kitamura." I answered back, giving them a small little wave.

"Stupid Chihuahua, do you want to let go of his hand?" Taiga asked coldly, an edge to her voice.

"Hm? But Ryuuji is my boyfriend." Ami replied in her "normal" voice.

At those words, Taiga silently chewed on her lip with her cheeks puffed up in anger, trying to formulate her response, but finding none, she blew out a small breath and turned to speak to me.

"Hey, Ryuuji," She started, her head bowed low, "Does this mean that I should stop coming over?"

"Why would it mean that?" I asked, completely confused by why Taiga was suddenly asking me such a weird question.

"Well…" She trailed off, pointing a finger at Ami, who I could tell was enjoying the way that Taiga had seemingly receded, although she did an admirable job of hiding it.

Ah, now I get it. The reason she had seemed so upset was because she was scared that I would stop cooking for her. I don't want to sound arrogant, but I always had a feeling that my bentos were much better than she let on with her normal reactions to my food. You see, the secret comes in the cooking of the rice. Growing up around the kitchen, I found that the traditional method of simply steaming it left it somewhat bland, so after some trial and experimentation, I think that I've found the optimal mix of spices and herbs to add that little extra something.

First I take…err, I'm getting off topic now.

I laughed, "No, you can still come over for dinner tonight if you want, and I'll keep making bentos for you to take to school, don't worry."

"So, Ryuuji, can I come over as well?" Ami suddenly asked.

I scratched my head, "Why?"

"I'm your girlfriend." She replied, with irritation evident in her tone.

Oh, right. I almost forgot. That would explain why Ami seemed so angry at me. You know, for someone who wasn't taking our so called relationship all that seriously, Ami had really already committed to our status as a couple. I was actually quite impressed by her acting skills.

"Well, I guess so." I conceded, not really sure if no was truly an option.

At the time, I didn't seem the harm in inviting both of them over. It was only later that I would come to regret those words.

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**Well, it looks like things are getting started for our fake couple! Like last time, please review or PM me if you guys want this to continue! Each and every one of your thoughts is huge for a story in a small section like this, and I won't rest until Covers is on top and everyone knows about the Ami x Ryuuji pairing! Thanks for reading so far, and I'll try to update soon!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Thanks for all of the reviews so far! I really want to say that I wouldn't be here without your support, so thank you! I'm behind in responding to these reviews, but rest assured, I will get to all of them soon!**

**Guest: Nice to know! I hope this next installment keeps your interest!**

**Zallow: I know, it's completely OP like Gil in Fate/Zero! Long live Ami x Ryuuji!**

**Other than that, please enjoy the continuation of Covers!**

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Chapter 3

I don't know how this happened, but somehow, I found myself unlocking the front door to my admittedly unspectacular home for both Ami and Taiga. Taiga had already been here several times before, so I wasn't worried about her. However, Ami had only been over once before, and now, I could see her examining my house with a new scrutinizing look in her eyes.

I opened my mouth to try and make up some excuse for why my house was so average, but I was immediately interrupted by a bubbly voice and the sensation of something wrapping itself around my leg.

"Ryuu-chan!" My mother exclaimed as she hung on to my leg with one arm and wiped the sleep out of her eyes with the other.

"M-mom?" I asked incredulously, at a loss for any other words. Glancing up at the clock, I read that the time was now 8:00, which meant that she definitely should have been on her way by now. Shit. Her manager was a nice enough guy, but still, the fact remained that she was now late for work, "Shouldn't you be on your way to work?"

"Nah, my manager told me that my vacation time was piling up, and told me to take the night off, so I thought that I'd surprise you when you got home!" She replied blithely, affectionately rubbing my leg.

I sighed in relief, glad that she wasn't missing work or anything. I swear, sometimes I feel as if I'm the parent and my mother was the forgetful child. But of course, I know how hard she works for me, and I appreciate it, I really do. Actually, sometimes I wish that she would stop working herself to death for my sake. I feel bad for essentially restricting her. Without me, she could probably afford to live by only working one job, instead of the two she had to make ends meet. She really was a great mother, even if she didn't realize it.

My mom used me as a counterweight to pull herself up, so that she was sitting cross-legged, "Say, Ryuu-chan, who is she?" She asked me, pointing to Ami.

Oh, I almost forgot that Ami and my mom had never met before.

"Oh, that's…" I paused, unsure as to how I was going to explain our relationship. What could I say? That we were dating? Because I knew that it would lead to many awkward questions. Maybe I could just tell her that she's a friend from school. But then, knowing Taiga, she would definitely not let me leave it at that. Damn it, why does Mom's manager have to send her home at the worst times?

"I'm Ami, Ryuu-chan's girlfriend."Ami interrupted, copying Mom's name for me.

Immediately, Taiga froze, and I stood stiff, while Ami merely wore that fake smile that she pulled out so often, all of us just waiting to see exactly how my mom would react to the news. To my surprise, she just grinned, "Oh, nice to meet you, Ami-chan!"

I allowed myself a deep exhale, glad that Mom had bought it so easily. It would have been incredibly awkward and embarrassing to explain the whole situation, something I definitely was not keen on doing right now. Maybe if I had a chance to tell her in private, but definitely not in front of Taiga.

Besides, I had more important things to worry about, like starting on dinner.

* * *

"Wow, Ya-chan, you're so youthful!"

"Oh, thank you Ami-chan! Maybe you should tell that to Ryuu-chan! He hasn't called me young in years!"

"Speaking of which, where's that stupid dog with our food?"

I smiled a bit, in spite of myself. It was nice to know that the three of them were getting along reasonably well. I was worried that they would tear each other to pieces, but I guess even Ami could be tempered by my mother. I was definitely glad that she was so harmless, because otherwise, I could guarantee that Ami and Taiga would be at each other's throats by now.

"All right, stop complaining." I drawled out, hauling the rice cooker to the dinner table, which was occupied on every side but one by Taiga, Ami, and my mom. Doling out four portions of rice, I added an extra heaping to one bowl in particular and slid it over to a ravenous Taiga, who immediately began an assault on it with her chopsticks.

"Wow, this looks great, Ryuu-chan!" Mom complimented as I placed a few platters of vegetables stir-fried with various meats out on the table, just as I handed her rice, which she accepted gratefully.

"Yeah, I had no idea that you could cook so well." Ami added, looking legitimately surprised by what I had made. What, did you think I was going to serve you something inedible?

"Ryuu-chan's been handling the cooking for as long as I can remember!" Mom mentioned in between bites while I picked up my chopsticks and began eating on my own. I noticed after I had chomped down on a piece of chicken that Ami had not even touched her chopsticks yet, let alone started eating. Instead, she just sat at the table with a blank expression on her face.

I chewed carefully and swallowed before I spoke, "Hey Ami, the food's going to get cold."

She blinked a few times in surprise, almost as if she had just been awoken from a trance.

"Oh, right." She laughed, easily switching into her public persona.

For a few minutes, we ate in a comfortable silence. Personally, I'm not one for conversation over dinner, since I usually eat alone and I really have no idea what to say when other people are eating with me. Should I ask them how the food is? Or maybe I should ask them about their day? Ultimately, I end up saying nothing and simply enjoy the silence that comes.

But of course, the world decided today that I wouldn't have that luxury.

We had already cut through most of the plates with ease, courtesy of Taiga, who was the heaviest eater I had ever seen for a girl her size. I swear, she was hiding some sort of second stomach within her tiny frame. However, just as she reached for the last piece of chicken, the same piece that Ami just so happened to have claimed as well.

As their chopsticks collided, I could instantly feel an electricity in the air exuded from the two in particular. Beside me, Mom blissfully ignored the two, too concerned with polishing off her bowl of rice to really acknowledge the tension in the room.

"Say, Stupid Chihuahua, do you want to find another piece?" Taiga asked with faked civility, a small vein popping on her forehead.

"Oh, but it seems to have chosen me over you." Ami replied with just enough sweetness in her voice to cover up the venom in her voice.

Taiga's forced smile grew even larger as she refused to back down, "Well that can't be right, because I laid my eyes on it first."

"My, are you jealous that I have already claimed it?" Ami replied, her acting wearing thin as she struggled to prevent her true personality from erupting in an ugly explosion.

"Thief!" Taiga accused.

"Well at least I've hit puberty!" Ami snapped back, no longer attempting to conceal her anger.

"What does that have to do with anything?" Taiga shot back, briefly glancing at her chest before she locked eyes with Ami once more.

"Mine!" Mom announced as she deftly cut her chopsticks in and snatched up the piece of chicken, to their collective surprise. She happily popped the protein into her mouth, seemingly oblivious to the argument that had just taken place. Seriously, Mom…did you not see what just happened?

"Hey, let me take your dishes for you." I added, confused, but glad that my mom had managed to stun the two long enough for them to forget their argument. I stood up and collected all of the bowls on the table and carted them off to the sink, glad to be away from the argument.

"H-here, let me come help." Ami said shakily, apparently having regained her composure. Not that I didn't welcome the help, since Mom usually came home far too late for me to be washing dishes, but I was also a bit afraid of Ami right now, especially considering she had just exploded in front of Taiga and Mom.

"It's fine." I reassured, assuming that she was doing it just to be polite.

Ami shook her head, "No, really. I never get to wash the dishes in my house, so it's a nice change of pace."

"Why not?" I asked, begrudgingly handing her a dirty plate to start scrubbing off.

"Well, I don't really know how to cook, so I always eat out." Ami admitted, "This was my first home cooked meal in a while."

I nodded softly, remembering that Ami had told us once that she was living alone, since her parents were still in the city. I had lived for seventeen years without a dad, but at least I had my mom to keep an eye on me, as independent as I have been notwithstanding. But to live completely alone, that was a different matter entirely. Maybe it was because I felt a tinge of sympathy, or maybe I was just feeling generous, but I couldn't stop the words that spilled out of me next.

"Well, you can come over whenever you need to." I offered. I mean, we didn't have much to go around, but we already shared with Taiga. What was one more mouth, right?

"Oh, all right." Ami replied, a hint of red dusting her cheeks.

"Say, Ami, are you feeling okay? You're a little red." I asked. Maybe she had a fever? She did look a little flustered.

"It's nothing." She blurted out quickly, intent on ending the matter, a hint that I took.

"But thanks anyways." She added as she clumsily tried to dab at the plate in her hands with a sponge. I observed her for a minute, doing my best to resist the urge to just snatch the plate out of her hands and do it myself. I could tell that she was considering the same by the frustrated growl that she vocalized as she found that she could not get rid of one stain in particular.

"Let me help." I gave in and placed a hand on Ami's, guiding it with more force than she had applied earlier, grinning as the accursed stain was removed. Cleaning always gave me such a thrill. There was just something about knowing that I had conquered the dirtiness of the world that made it so exhilarating.

I let go of her hand, hoping that she had taken the hint. As I looked up at her face, it was now completely red, and I gave her a worrying sigh, "Are you sure that you're not feeling a cold or something? You're really red right now."

"Oh, I am?" She stammered, turning her head away from me.

Jeez, do you really have to be so stubborn about everything? There's no shame in admitting that you have a cold or something.

Sometimes, I just don't understand women.

* * *

**Oh Ryuuji, you don't know the half of it. And just exactly what were Ami and Taiga arguing about earlier? It seemed to get a bit too personal over a piece of chicken. Maybe they were talking about something (or someone) else?**

**Other than that, as usual, if you want this story to continue, please review or PM me! See you at the usual time next week!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Thanks so much for all of the reviews! You guys truly are awesome with that!**

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**Please, enjoy the continuation of Covers!**

* * *

Chapter 4

The whole room seemed to have a new clarity to it, as if I were seeing the world through a sharp pair of glasses. The adrenaline pumped through my body, and my muscles hummed to life as my reflexes seemed a second quicker and my mind moved crisply to analyze the situation. I grimaced as I felt a bead of sweat trail down the side of my face, which was contorted into an expression of determination. My hands shook relentlessly, despite my best efforts to steady them. I licked my lips in anticipation and steeled my nerves as I scrubbed viciously and violently, with no mercy in any of my actions.

This stain had plagued me long enough, and now that it was the weekend, I finally had my chance to tackle it. I gripped my brush until my knuckles were white, furiously doing my best to erase away the smear of dirt that had been tracked onto the bathroom floor. Slowly but surely, I could see the stain growing lighter with each successive sweep of my arms, until the white tile underneath was revealed.

"You put a good fight, but there was never any way I was going to allow you to survive." I spat at the now non-existent stain, feeling as though I were some sort of action hero in a big Hollywood blockbuster. Yeah, I know that it was kind of nerdy for me to do that, but I couldn't help myself. Cleaning is just such a rush.

Just as I planned to move on to unclogging the sink drain, which had been making it hell to wash my hands in the sink all week, I felt a buzzing in my pocket. Scowling at the interruption, I slipped off one of my protective gloves and fished out my phone, which was displaying an unknown number. I hesitated for a moment, given that I was usually only called by telemarketers. Such as was the life of the class delinquent, no matter how inaccurate that title was for me. I don't know what possessed me to do so, but before I realized it, I had my phone flipped open and pressed up against my ear, waiting on baited breath for the caller to speak up.

"Ryuu-chan." An exhausted voice moaned from the other end of my phone. I considered hanging up, assuming that it was a prank call when I suddenly realized that only two people had ever called me Ryuu-chan. The first was Mom, and the other…

"Ami! What's wrong?" I asked, now more concerned due to the fact that she sounded legitimately weak on her side. My weekend plans completely forgotten, I ripped off my other glove, hearing the plastic snap as it peeled off of my fingers, before I tossed it and its partner onto the kitchen counter.

I heard sniffling and a quiet sneeze, "I think you were right. I do have a cold."

Of course I was right. I've always had a knack for spotting sickness, partly as a product of having to take care of my mother as much as I took care of myself. Call it a housewife's intuition. Err, actually, on second thought, don't. Call it a househusband's intuition. Wait, that doesn't really sound much better, now that I think about it… You know what? Let's just forget about it.

"All right, I'm coming over." I replied, hanging up before she could respond. Luckily, I had already gotten dressed, having planned to go shopping at the supermarket later on, and all I had to do before I rushed out of the house was to leave a note for my still sleeping mother and to slip on a pair of shoes before I slipped out of the front door, but not before remembering to lock up.

By the time I ran out of the house, I realized that I had no idea where Ami lived. Realizing exactly how embarrassing my next actions would have to be, but finding that I had absolutely no one to ask without coming off as a stalker, I had no choice but to suck it up and dial Ami's number. I impatiently waited, deciding to lean against my front door as I heard ringing for a few seconds before she picked up.

"Say, Ami, you wouldn't mind telling me where you live, right?" I asked sheepishly as soon as I heard the labored breathing that no doubt belonged to Ami.

There was a pause on the other end before I heard a faint set of chuckles, no doubt form Ami laughing over my forgetfulness, "Dummy."

* * *

I gulped as I stared down the front door of Ami's apartment, finding that all of the bravado and concern that had carried my legs to this point had run out. Here I was, standing in front of Ami's front door without even thinking about what I had planned to do. As a teenager who is conscious of the opposite sex, I was nervous, as you could probably understand. I mean, I was standing not ten feet from the room where _the_ Kawashima Ami slept, ate, and, as of now, was fighting a cold. How many guys could say that without feeling at least a little bit nervous?

Just as I considered just turning back and going home, a resounding cough sounded, seemingly loud enough to be heard outside of the apartment. Immediately, I lost all of my inhibitions and tried the doorknob, which was luckily unlocked, and stormed into the house, ears perking up as they attempted to hone in on the source of the cough. Clearly, I had made a large enough racket that Ami had heard me entering the apartment, because Ami called out, "In here!"

Following her voice, I made my way to the back of the apartment, where a sole door that likely led to her room lay. I eased open the door to the sight of a well maintained bedroom, with nothing more than a desk occupying a corner and a small TV flipped on some high school drama show to compliment the large king size bed that was currently hosting my fake girlfriend.

"Kawashima-san, how are you feeling?" I asked, shuffling carefully over to the side of the bed, which was covered with used tissues while Ami hid all of her body, save for her head, underneath her thick blue covers. I definitely needed to give her a talk about how it was unhygienic to be sleeping in used tissues, and then maybe follow that up with another talk on the value of folding her clothes every time she took them off. Sure, she was sick, but that was no excuse to leave a mess around her room!

"Sick." She replied, trying in vain to hide under her covers more, but immediately abandoning the task as she sneezed into a tissue. I recoiled in horror as she aimlessly scrunched up the used paper and tossed it to the foot of her bed, joining the small mountain of tissues that she had created.

"Wait, let me get a trash can." I managed, just barely resisting the urge to dump a bucket of disinfectant on top of Ami's head. Noticing a small metal trash can by her desk, I snatched it up and dropped by the side of the bed, so that Ami could easily reach it by extending her right arm. With the speed of a practiced expert, I swept up all of the loose tissues and dumped them into the trash can, in one fell swoop, only to find that it was already on the verge of overflowing.

"There's a bigger one in the kitchen." Ami informed me in between sneezes.

Nodding in acknowledgement, I headed through her hallways to the kitchen, which was adjoined to her rather expansive living room. The whole apartment had a modern feel to it, as expected of a wealthy model. As opposed to my house, which was traditional, with its own rustic charm, Ami's apartment was sleek and clean, with a kind of urbane cool that my house could never hope to match, not in a million years.

Not to mention, her kitchen was worth gaping over. She had all of the latest appliances, with an expansive fridge and an electric stove top, all in stainless steel. And of course, she had an oven that made me salivate in excitement before I remembered exactly why I was in her kitchen. I would have time to ogle her cookware later, after I had grabbed a trash can for her.

I quickly found the aforementioned article in a cabinet underneath her counter, which showed almost no sign of use. When Ami had said that she didn't usually cook at home, she hadn't been lying. And it really was a shame, considering what she had to work with here. I made a mental note to possibly teach Ami how to cook in the future so that her appliances would not go to waste as I returned to her bedroom, trash can in hand.

"Toss the tissues in here. It's better than having them all over your room." I informed her, and immediately, Ami followed my directions, dropping in tissue after tissue into the trash can I had brought in.

"I'm going to make you something to help you feel better, so just sit back and relax Kawashima-san." I added, giddy with the prospect of getting to work with her coveted appliances.

"Wait." Ami called out weakly, just as I turned to leave, "Why are you calling me Kawashima-san again?"

"Well, we're alone right now, so we don't have to pretend like we're dating, right?" I replied, wondering exactly why she cared what I called her.

"Well," She paused, apparently at a loss for words, "We should practice calling each other by our first names, so that it comes out naturally when we're in public."

Well, I guess she had a point there.

"Fair enough. I'll be back soon, Ami." I repeated, remembering to slip in her name at the end, although the sensation of calling someone by their first name left a strange taste in my mouth.

"All right, I'll be waiting, Ryuu-chan." She replied with a wink as she recited my mom's dreaded nickname for me.

I lost no time in flying to the kitchen, excitedly swinging open the fridge to find it completely stacked to the brim with untouched ingredients, which still seemed extremely fresh. Maybe she had gone shopping last night on her way home? Discarding my confusion over the origin of the food, I quickly decided on a menu appropriate for someone sick.

I fished out a pot and immediately put the ingredients for some rice porridge in on a light simmer. Unfortunately, I would have to tone down the flavor profile to make it palatable for Ami, but I was still happy with the result. Grabbing an instant tea bag, I dropped it into a cup of hot water, with nothing left to do but to wait as the water mixed with the herbal leaves. I gently stirred the porridge, occasionally tasting and adding in seasoning as needed until the rice was at a consistency that I had been aiming for.

I carefully returned to Ami's room, with the tea in one hand and a bowl of porridge in the other. Ami meanwhile, had turned her attention to the television, and chuckled lightly at the antics of the characters onscreen.

"All right, drink some tea first." I ordered, handing her the steaming cup. I watched Ami slither out of her covers, propping herself up against some pillows, revealing that she thankfully had been wearing a set of red pajamas. She gently blew on the scalding liquid before she took a small sip, eyeing the bowl in my hand the whole time.

"Say, Ryuuji, I'm still feeling really weak. Do you mind feeding me?" Ami asked, with a little inflection at the end of her words that made me nod in spite of myself. I pulled up a chair to seat myself in and before I even realized what I was doing, I had lifted up a spoon of porridge and gently ladled it into Ami's mouth, which closed up around the plastic and cleaned off every last grain that had been on the spoon.

She chewed thoughtfully for a moment before she swallowed and weakly grinned, "Tastes great, for some rice porridge at least."

Egged on by her words, I enthusiastically continued to feed her, only realizing what I had done after the bowl was completely empty. At the realization that I had just fed Ami, my cheeks instantly reddened, and I found myself looking away from the blue haired beauty who had snuggled herself back underneath her covers.

"That was really good." She sighed as she closed her eyes and drifted off into a peaceful sleep. Despite my attempts to look away, I couldn't help but to find myself staring at Ami as she napped. I had never really noticed it before beyond a simple acknowledgement, but now that I took the time to examine her, I had to admit that she really was beautiful, just as a model would be expected to be. Her porcelain skin was without a blemish or a wrinkle, and without her usual bubbly smile, I somehow found that she seemed more mature in the way that a high school girl most certainly should not have been, with her elegant features being highlighted even more by a placid expression.

Her soft blue locks lay splayed over her face, and as strands occasionally tickled her face, her nose scrunched up cutely in a way that made me forget just how cunning and devious Ami could be in reality. All that mattered to me in that instant was how peacefully she was sleeping, with long, drawn out breaths punctuating the silence of her room. I didn't realize that I had been staring until the ringing of a phone snapped me out of my trance.

It took me a second that I was Ami's phone which had gone off, and as I remembered that I had been staring at her in her sleep, my face reddened even more than before, until I was sure that I could pass for a tomato. I checked her phone to see that it was one of her friends calling. For a moment, I wondered whether or not I should pick up, but I realized that me picking up Ami's home phone would raise some unwanted questions.

Deciding to instead occupy myself with tending to Ami's unfolded clothes on the floor, I stiffly handled the clothes, relying on old, ingrained movements that had been honed by years of picking up after Mom. My hands moved deftly, transforming the pile of clothes into a perfectly folded set that I placed on her nightstand.

"Ryuuji."

I was about to respond to the sound of my name when I realized that it had slipped from Ami's lips as she was still sound asleep, if the soft sound of her breathing was any indication. It appeared that she was having a dream, and that I was somehow involved in said dream. Now interested, I silently leaned closer to try and hear more.

"No, don't do that." She mumbled softly, her trademark smirk coming to her face as she did so. I guess even in her dreams, she couldn't stop it from slipping out, "You're such a bad boy."

Hey, I'm not a delinquent! It's a bit disheartening to know that Ami thought of me that way. And just when I thought that I had made some progress. What was it that Thoreau said? Our truest life is when we are in our dreams awake, or something like that? I guess that, despite the fact that she trusted me enough to choose me for her plan, it was hard to change first impressions.

Deciding that I should leave Ami alone to rest, I quickly tip toed out of the room, taking care to make as little noise as possible, so that I would not wake her up. Easing the door to her bedroom closed, I moved back to the kitchen so that I could clean up some of the pots I had used earlier.

As I moved across the metal of her pot, I noticed a stain on one of her windows and made a mental note to tend to her windows once I finished with her dishes. The warm water and soap worked quickly to wipe away the relatively light amount of gunk in the pot. After all, I had only really used rice and water, so there wasn't really much to clean up. Once I had everything placed into the dishwasher, I turned my attention to the windows and their offending rainwater stain.

Before long, I had already finished with cleaning off the windows, dusting the whole house, preformed some maintenance on Ami's bathroom, and was now currently sweeping the floors when I heard the creaking of a door and some soft footsteps that were growing progressively louder.

"Ryuuji, are you still here?" Ami asked as she stumbled into the living room, a thick blanket wrapped around her figure.

"Yeah, I'm just sweeping your floors." I replied as I propped up the broom that I had been using up against the wall so that I could talk to her.

At my words. Ami looked all around at her apartment, which was definitely much cleaner than it had been before I had arrived, and chuckled, "Say, you would definitely make a great housewife, wouldn't you?"

"It's not that bad, is it?" I laughed in reply.

Ami's eyes ran up and down my body before she replied, "Well, you definitely dress like one."

"What's wrong with how I dress?" I muttered, looking down at my attire. I had on a pair of black sweatpants paired with a long sleeved white t-shirt. I never really cared about how I dressed, and on non school days, I usually just threw on whatever felt comfortable. It wasn't that bad, right?

"Well, at least I know where we're going for our first date. Even if you are only going to be my fake boyfriend, you can't possibly go out in public dressed like this." Ami sighed, alluding to my get up. Oh come on, it can't be that bad!

Although, I guess that her words made sense. She was a model, and it would be expected of her boyfriend to dress similarly to her, if only to keep up appearances. I mean, you didn't see celebrities dating bums for a reason, right?

"Anyways, you shouldn't be out of bed yet!" I snapped, my caretaker instincts kicking in.

"But I'm bored!" Ami whined in response, shuffling over to her couch and plopping herself down, grabbing the television remote, "And besides, I'm warm enough with my blankets right now."

"All right." I relented, joining her on the couch.

"Have you been watching any dramas recently?" Ami asked as she began flipping through the channels.

I blinked, realizing that, for once, Ami and I were just having a normal conversation. It occurred to me that, for as long as I had known Ami and for as many times as I had spoken to her, we had never just had a casual conversation. Usually, we discussed some more serious topics, but this was different. We were just two high school students, talking about whatever we wanted to.

Who would've guessed that the first person I would have a normal conversation like this with other than Kitamura would end up being Ami?

"No, not really. How about you?" I struggled through my words, desperately piecing together enough words to constitute a response. Given that I was relatively inexperienced at the whole thing, coupled with the fact that I had no idea what to say to Ami, made it very difficult to find anything to say.

However, she didn't seem bothered in the slightest by my struggles and placed a finger on her chin as she thought of a response, "Well, I've been watching some American movies recently. My parents sent me a bunch of DVDs that they got from some of their American friends, and I've been going through them. Do you want to watch one?"

I shrugged, "Why not?"

Ami nodded and hopped out of her seat, moving to a bookcase that she had placed next to her television, filled with a large assortment of DVDs, both American and Japanese. She rifled through the various cases before she seemed to decide on one, popping open the case and inserting it into her DVD player.

The screen darkened before the words, "The Beauty and the Beast" appeared on the screen.

I saw Ami settle into her seat more, wrapping her blanket around her even tighter in anticipation. Deciding that all I could do was to sit back and enjoy myself as well, I ignored the odd reality of me sitting beside Kawashima Ami, watching a movie in her apartment. Never in a million years would I have thought that I could be saying those words.

Well, I guess there's a first time for everything, right?

"Hey," Ami suddenly spoke up as the movie began, "Why did you come to take care of me? I didn't ask for any help."

I thought about it for a moment. Why exactly had I come? I mean, I didn't really think about what I was doing until I was already in the apartment, cooking lunch for her. It had just seemed like the natural thing to do at the time, and it was only now that I realized that I had no good reason to actually have come.

"Well, I guess you could call it my instincts. I take care of Taiga and my Mom, so when I heard how sick you sounded, I just knew that I should come over." I answered, trying to articulate some sort of coherent response.

"Oh, all right." Ami seemed to accept my explanation.

"Thanks." She added a moment later, falling into silence as she began to focus on the film.

I smiled. By the lack of fanfare with which she answered, it had seemed like she had spoken genuinely there, and that touched me for some strange reason. I guess the rarity of such a gesture left an impression on me.

"No problem."

* * *

**Well, I ended up writing a lot more than I originally anticipated that I would, so I hope that was a welcome change from the last few chapters! I can't say for sure if all of my future chapters will be at this length, but if I get on a roll like I did this week, I can definitely see more chapters at this length. If you guys did like the longer chapter, then please, let me know and I'll try to write more each week!**

**Please, if you guys have any thoughts or idea, don't be afraid to leave a review or PM! Right now, I'm in the top ten of reviews with Covers, and I don't plan to stop until I'm on top. Because of that, every review counts, so please review! **


	5. Chapter 5

**I don't know how else to express my feelings towards you guys other than thank you so much for reviewing! **

**Animefreak: Don't worry, I plan on continuing this! ;)**

**Please enjoy the continuation of Covers!**

* * *

Chapter 5

"Yahello, Ryuu-chan!" Ami greeted happily as I approached our arranged meeting place at the local convenience store. We had chosen it because it just so happened to be on the main road to school, and we were likely to be seen by everyone as we walked to school, which was our intention. It was simple misdirection. By seeing us together so much in public, people would never realize that we didn't have a true relationship, and eventually, the questions would stop and Ami would be able to live out her high school life in relative peace from secret and public admirers alike.

It was still early in the morning, and I didn't understand exactly how Ami looked so energetic. Personally, I needed my eight hours just to function, and even more if I wanted to be anything more than a swirling mess of grouchiness. I supposed that my hatred of mornings only added to the intimidation factor of my face, but really, I was too tired to even care about the various girls that shrank in fear as I passed by them to reach Ami, who didn't seem at all bothered by my countenance. Maybe she was just a morning person.

"What's with that greeting?" I mumbled, definitely not in the mood to be assaulted by Ami's blinding smile. Seriously, it's like she just got back from some photo shoot and they forgot to turn the flash off. How anyone can have so much energy this early in the morning, I have no idea. Maybe some things were just better left as mysteries.

"I was just trying to be cute! You know, how a couple is _supposed _to act." She added with a slight edge to her tone. Despite her innocent expression, she was actually being quite forceful with her words, and it didn't take much for me to get the hint. But if you think that I'm going to stoop that low, you have another thing coming! I actually have a bit of self respect, believe it or not.

"Because we're a real couple!" Ami added, with a strained smile that translated roughly to, "Answer back or I will murder you right here in the middle of the street." Naturally, in the interest of self preservation, I shook off the sleep and lifted up my hand in a weak attempt at a wave.

"Yahello!" I answered with a giddy smile that was much too large to be natural. Of course, anyone with half a brain would be able to see through my wooden acting, and it was a miracle that no one had called me out right then and there.

But, it looked like Ami had deemed it acceptable, because the next thing I knew, she had her fingers laced in between my own and was dragging me in the general direction of school.

* * *

By the time we got to the front gates, I knew exactly what to be expecting from the few who had not witnessed Ami's "confession" last week, or from those who had heard about it and were simply coming to confirm the validity of the rumors that were no doubt swirling around the school. Well, I guess if I had heard that the most popular girl in my grade was dating the most feared guy in that same grade, then I would have to go check it out for myself as well. But still, can't people be more discreet about it?

There was an abundance of hanging jaws as we entered the classroom, hand in hand. I gulped slightly, as I saw Ami's friends, one with brown hair that I recognized as Kihara Maya immediately, and another with violet hair that I knew as Kashii Nanako. Maya approached us with a sense of urgency to her movements while Nanako struggled to keep up with the more energetic girl. I'll admit, I had thought that both of them were pretty attractive in their own right, and there was a time when it could have been said that Kihara Maya was the prettiest girl in our entire year. But by hanging out with Ami, it wasn't really surprising that they had been overshadowed recently and relatively forgotten, although they were definitely still several levels above me on the social pyramid of high school.

I took this moment to excuse myself, gladly seizing my chance to flee from a potential encounter with Ami's friends, who frankly scared me. I admit that I was afraid of even Nanako, who was relatively harmless, at least, as far as her appearance went. Ami seemed reluctant to let me go, as I suppose any girlfriend would logically be, but she relented after I shot her a pleading look, and allowed me to sneak away to my desk while her friends dragged her as far away from me as possible.

I dropped my bag on my desk and plopped down into my seat, feeling absolutely exhausted by the day's events, despite the fact that school hadn't even started yet. Who said that being Kawashima Ami's boyfriend was easy work? Even though I was only playing the part, that didn't stop me from being subjected to glares from a slew of admirers who wanted nothing more than to see me completely erased from Ami's life. Needless to say, it wasn't the most pleasant experience I have ever had.

I turned to face Kitamura, who had been sitting with a sly grin on his face that told me that he was dying to say something to me. Sometimes, I just don't know about that guy.

"So, Takasu-kun, I got a phone call from Ami last night about how you went over to her apartment." Kitamura informed me, "What did you two do?"

"Wh- nothing!" I stammered, which was the truth. We had ended up just having idle conversation over the movie, given that I had a hard time understanding it. I'm not the best at English class, and I was barely able to keep up with the speed at which the characters had talked, so I settled on focusing most of my attention on Ami, who I found to be surprisingly easy to talk to about normal things. I had never really thought about it before, but I guess that Ami was a pretty normal girl, all things considered.

"Don't be afraid to tell us!" Minori added from her seat, nodding in assent with Kitamura. Of course she was. You know, I was starting to reconsider my entire crush on her with this latest reminder at exactly how unaware she was of how I felt about her. At this point, I get the feeling that she would totally misinterpret my confession if I ever got the guts to make one.

"There's really nothing to tell!" I insisted, although I had a notion in my mind that neither of them was going to accept my answer. However, I never got the chance to answer before Ami interrupted us by taking a seat on my desk, scaring me with her sudden appearance. This relationship really was doing a number on both my mental and physical health, you know.

She looked at all of us with a confused expression, "Nothing to tell about what?"

"About how Ryuuji stayed over at your house yesterday!" Minori replied a little too loudly. Okay, maybe it was way too loudly, because the next thing I knew, the entire classroom was huddled up around my desk, eagerly awaiting a response. Damn it Minori, can't you be more discreet about these sensitive topics? Now the rumor that Ami and I had been sleeping together was probably bound to spring up within a couple of days, and that was before I could even wrap my head around some of the more ludicrous theories that I had overheard so far.

"Well, I don't think that I'm really comfortable talking about what we did." Ami muttered just loudly enough for everyone to hear, adding a small blush with her words. It was a scandalous statement, and Ami knew it, if the discreet wink that she gave me was any indication. Is that supposed to make me feel better? Because it definitely isn't working! Not at all!

"No really, all we did was watch some movies!" I insisted, waving my arms in a desperate attempt to make everyone forget about what Ami had just said, but my efforts were fruitless as my words only helped to fuel the heated discussion that had started.

"So you aren't denying that you were at Ami's house yesterday?" Someone asked, and immediately, the whole group burst into pandemonium, with so many conversations springing up at once that it made my head hurt just trying to keep track of them all. Pretty soon, I gave up and just watched Ami as she absent mindedly began to doodle on my notebook, seemingly oblivious to all that was going on around her. I knew that it was all an act, and I couldn't help the helpless groan that I emitted as she allowed the mask to crack for a moment, revealing a devilish smile at the stir she had caused.

Damn, she was good at what she did.

* * *

I think that the following school day was the longest I had ever experienced in my life. First off, I received several notes from my classmates during each of my periods, asking if the rumors about me and Ami were true. Naturally, I crumpled them up and tossed them back at their owners. I wasn't about to dignify them with a response that could incriminate me any more than Ami's constant "affectionate" gestures already had.

Say what you want about her, but Ami was truly a great actress. Between the constant winks she fired at me, that had no intention of being discreet, and the origami hearts that she made from scraps of paper she had lying around and proudly displayed on her desk, to the fact that she had been writing, "I love Ryuu-chan" all over her notebook, which everyone had witnessed when she was asked to stand up and read out one of her responses to the reading we had done, I was sure that everyone was convinced that we were nothing less than the perfect couple. And when I had shared some of my bento with her at lunchtime, well, let's just say that I won't be doing that anytime soon.

But I think that the most impressive segment to her role came right after school ended and we were packing up to leave. I had already had my books stuffed into my bag and I was about to help Ami out with some of her stuff when I found myself pushed into a corner by Maya and Nanako. Well, more like Maya had pushed me and Nanako had been silently accompanying her.

"I have no idea what you're blackmailing Ami with, but you better stop right away." Maya spat in my face, stabbing an accusatory finger into my chest, while Nanako nodded along in agreement from behind her. I opened my mouth to retort, but I found that my throat dried up as I witnessed Maya's acrid glare that burned a hole through my head with its intensity. Why do all of the girls in our class have to be so intimidating?

"Maya, what do you think you're doing?" Ami's voice suddenly rang out, with a noticeable edge that instantly made my blood run cold, despite the fact that she was rushing to my defense. I couldn't even imagine how those two must feel right now. I imagine that it was something between shaken and terrified. Despite the fact that she normally kept up appearances in public, I think that even Maya and Nanako knew that messing with Ami was not a wise decision, or one that was conducive to staying alive.

"Oh-A-Ami! I was just checking out Takasu to make sure that he wasn't trying to take advantage of you or anything!" Maya laughed, desperately trying to save face in this moment. However, both of us knew that Ami was secretly furious, although she was doing an admirable job of hiding it.

She just kept her usual smile on her face and forcefully nudged herself in between her friends so that she could stand by my side and clutch my arm with a grip tight enough to cut off my circulation.

"Well, I appreciate your concern, but if Ryuu-chan was really doing something inappropriate to me, I would have the right mind to call the authorities." She said, her smile disappearing, replaced by a nasty snarl that I was glad not to be on the receiving end of, "Or are you saying that I don't have enough common sense to think of that myself?"

"Oh, no, Ami-chan! We were just trying to be good friends!" Nanako laughed, her hands trembling in fear. If it wasn't for the fact that those two had thrown me into the situation I was now in, I would've felt a little bit sorry for them. But a part of me found that I actually really appreciated Ami stepping in on my behalf. Even if it was just to keep people thinking that we were going out, I never had a girl actually stand up for me before, and it felt strangely fulfilling.

Instantly, Ami's scowl disappeared and the more docile smile she normally wore reappeared, much to our collective relief. I don't think that I could have handled another second with that heavy atmosphere.

"Well then, Ryuu-chan and I were planning on spending some time together after school today, so if you have any, tell me more concerns you have now!" She added, receiving two heads furiously shaking no in reply.

"I guess then we don't have anything else to talk about then. See you guys tomorrow!" Ami said, dragging me past the two stunned girls.

* * *

We didn't say a word until we reached a small café a couple of blocks away from school that we knew was frequented by a lot of fellow students, which made it a perfect place for a first date. Silently, we slid into a booth that was right by a window, allowing us an unobstructed view of the street outside. Immediately, Ami ordered an iced coffee while I asked for a Coke, with the server all too excited to get away from our table.

I sat stiffly, just hoping that Ami would say something to break the silence. Anything would have been appreciated. What I didn't expect was for her to start chuckling softly, half to me and half to herself. Did she need to see a therapist or something? Had she gone crazy already?

"Sorry. It's just that, well, saving the prince was a bit more satisfying than I had expected to be." Ami apologized, easing her laughs and settling back down into her normal state.

I smiled, seeing a bit of the irony in the situation as well, "Yeah, thanks for stepping in earlier."

"Think of it as me repaying you for taking care of me yesterday." Ami replied with a dismissive wave.

"Oh, believe me, getting to work with your kitchen was enough for me. I mean, just the way that your stove boiled the water like it was nothing! Usually, we have to wait for at least ten minutes for the water to boil on our stove. And I've never worked with better ingredients before in my life! Sure, it was just rice and some seasonings, but still, I don't think that I've cooked using something of such a high quality ever!" I began rambling a bit, but I didn't care. Ami deserved to know exactly how great her kitchen really was. I mean, if I didn't tell her, then who would?

To my surprise, Ami just sat there and began laughing again. And it wasn't forced in the slightest. Kawashima Ami was genuinely laughing. Her normal smile was gone, replaced instead by a wide grin that I had never seen before that made no attempt at quelling her chuckle. Her usually polite laugh was now punctuated occasionally by less than attractive snorting, which somehow only managed to add to the appeal with its honesty. It occurred to me in that moment that I had never seen Ami truly happy. I'd seen her fake happiness to the world, but I had never actually seen the part of her that had been hidden from the public eye, buried beneath the layers that she had put up as a front. And it was, dare I say, beautiful.

If I didn't know any better, I would have said that my heart skipped a beat just by staring at her.

"Jeez, Ryuuji, didn't you it's impolite to stare?" Ami pouted as she finally calmed herself down, but not before drawing looks from everyone else inside of the café, though I doubt she really cared about them.

"Sorry, I was just thinking of how much better you look when you're truly smiling, and not faking it. It feels more…human." I replied, adding, "You should do it more often."

"Oh, okay." Ami said softly, turning her head away from me, so that I could not see her face.

"But you know, you really are funny, Ryuuji." She whispered softly from her position, head adamantly facing the window and refusing to look back at me, "And it's a lot easier to laugh around you."

I smiled, not really knowing how to respond to that, and yet, feeling touched at the same time. Instead, I settled on a question that had been gnawing at me, "So Ami, I've been meaning to ask you this. Why exactly did you wait until now to ask me for my help? Couldn't you have asked me or someone else right when you transferred?"

Ami finally left her self-imposed exile and turned her head to face me once more, "It wasn't until I saw the way that Taiga was honest with herself that I really thought about it. I don't want to hear another confession to my fake persona. All of these boys only know my fake self, and they are only in love with an illusion. It sickens me."

Well, I could understood how she felt. I hated how people just assumed things about me for my appearance. I'm no delinquent, no matter what kind of face I had. And Ami was not the girl that her public persona had made her out to be, no matter how much her fans hoped and wished.

"I guess we are who we are, and nothing anyone says or does can really change us." I sighed, reclining back into my seat as our drinks arrived. I gently tore off the top of the paper sleeve that my straw had been hidden in before I slid it into my cup of dark brown liquid and took a deep sip, easing my parched throat. Meanwhile, Ami had left her coffee sit, making no move to touch it at all since it had arrived.

"For someone who's pretty dumb, you actually say some smart things." Ami admitted before she tipped her cup, the light brown coffee dancing over her lips, ice cubes clinking softly as she slowly drained the cup of its contents.

"Hey, what's that supposed to mean?" I grumbled, affording us one last laugh before we focused on our respective drinks. I enjoyed the relative silence of the café, where thankfully, no one had bothered to approach us, with those who were curious content to merely observe from afar. After what I had just dealt with, I definitely appreciated the break from everything.

The sun had just begun to sink over the hills in the distance, with its faltering rays saturating the entire room a warm orange. In particular, Ami's face was bathed in its glow, accentuating her soft features and creating an inviting atmosphere to her entire appearance, free from any sort of sinister smirk or fake smile. Her eyes were closed and her head was tilted slightly back, almost as if she were taking a nap. Gently, her eyes flickered open, revealing her almost crystalline violet irises.

"Hey, Ryuuji, what would you do if I said that maybe I didn't want to just pretend to be your girlfriend? That I wanted to date you for real?" She asked after some careful deliberation on her part.

I shrugged my shoulders, "First, I would ask if your head was feeling okay."

"And why is that?" Ami asked curiously.

"Well, you could have anyone you wanted, right? Why would you choose me over anyone else you could date from the world of showbiz?" I replied, finding no problems in my reasoning. She was a model, I was just an ordinary guy from a small town. When you thought about it, we were from two different worlds, and the fact that we had even interacted to this point was actually quite remarkable.

"I should ask the same question. Would you choose me? I'm manipulative, self centered, and borderline sadistic, while you're kind and selfless." Ami retorted, hanging her head slightly in a dejected manner.

Well, I couldn't exactly deny that. She was all of those things, I supposed.

But I couldn't just let her say those kinds of things about herself. I don't know why I felt so strongly, but I couldn't help the words that spilled from my mouth, "But I know that there's a lot more to you than just that. You're a great actress. And everyone seems to like you, which is more than I can say for myself. I'm just the reject, while you're the star."

I noticed Ami fidgeting around nervously in her seat. Hm, that's odd. Kawashima Ami and nervous weren't usually words I associated with each other. But, it seemed that mustered up the courage to speak, "You know, I was really being serious about what I just said. I really do want to try dating you for real."

"Huh?" I managed before I was assaulted by a pair of lips smashing upon my own. The first thing I noticed was the way that Ami's still wet lips mixed with my slightly chapped ones, starting a small spark of electricity that ran the entire length of my body, causing the hairs on the back of my neck to stand up on edge in anticipation.

I had no idea of how most people act when they're kissing, but I followed the lead of the manga I've read before and I closed my eyes as I savored Ami's taste. I don't know if it matters, but my first kiss tasted of coffee, with a slight hint of Coke at the end.

* * *

**Did the kiss come kinda quickly? Maybe, but I've always gotten the impression that Ami was aware of her own feelings ever since the stalker incident, give how cognizant she is, and if she had just disregarded Taiga, she could have confessed to Ryuuji in the series. Does this mean that the story is over though? No, far from it. Some of my favorite romance manga and anime have been Itazura na Kiss and Say I Love You, which go far beyond the first kiss, which is my intention, because if you think that a relationship between Ami and Ryuuji was going to be perfect, then you have another thing coming. **

**Hopefully, you guys will want to keep reading and you'll help me out by leaving either a review or PM. Thanks so much for reading so far!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Thank you all so much for all of the reviews, once again! I know that I've been slow on replying to them all, but school starts for me in less than a week and I've got enough homework piled up for a few all nighters. However, my love for writing this story trumped homework for now, so please, enjoy the continuation of Covers!**

**Random Guy: I'll definitely keep your suggestions in mind as I try and continue on with this story. Thanks for the substantial review!**

**Xayase: Don't worry! Megumi has annoyed me to no end, and I have no intention of creating a situation similar to that.**

**Guest: Yeah, I felt like it was a little quick too, but hey, live and let learn, right?**

* * *

Chapter 6

"So, that was…" I stuttered, just trying to articulate the unexplainable sensations that were coursing through my veins. My face must have been bright red, from the way that it felt like it was on fire, and I swore that there was now a jackhammer occupying the spot where my heart had once been located. I subconsciously swept my tongue across my lips, shuddering slightly at the sweetness of Ami's iced coffee and the images that it elicited from my mind.

"Incredible." Ami finished, decidedly red herself. If anything, she seemed to be in worse condition than me, with her heavy panting and darting eyes, trying to look off in every conceivable direction but mine. Of course she was. Even with the intention of telling everyone that we were dating publicly, there was still an element of embarrassment of being caught making out in the middle of a café.

I nodded dumbly, not really able to think of anything else to say in the moment.

"Yeah, exactly." I breathed, after an awkward silence that threatened to suffocate me with its stifling presence. Darn it, Ami, you're the more talkative one out of the two of us. Can't you say anything else right now?

Instead, she had her head defiantly pointed out the window, while her free hand gently stirred the silver stirrer that had been included for her iced coffee, the ice cubes clinking as they rubbed up against each other, punctuating the silence between us ever so slightly. I opened my mouth slightly in an attempt to speak, but I found myself surprisingly interrupted by Ami.

She bit her lip slightly, before she let go of the stirrer in her hand, allowing the metal utensil to rest up against the edge of her glass, "Say, Ryuuji, you said that I'm a great actress. Why do you think that?"

"Well…" I began, finding that words refused to come to my lips. Why exactly had I said that? Of course, before the…kiss, I had just assumed that Ami had been feigning her affection for me, that it had all been for the plan. But now, I wasn't so sure about that assumption. After all, she had made it fairly clear now that she had been harboring more feelings than she had initially revealed to me, which I supposed made my comment a bit odd, considering the new circumstances we now found ourselves in.

"Actually, never mind. I don't need to know the answer." Ami replied, making me almost jump out of my seat in surprise as she suddenly placed her hand on top of mine. Her fingers were smooth and soft, in contrast to my own callous and rough ones. Her skin was soft and delicate, as I expected out of a girl as feminine as Ami, and yet, at the same time, there was a subtle hint of force to her grip, almost as if she was trying to restrain some inherent need to grab on tighter than she was currently allowing herself to.

"You know, I wonder how Minori's going to feel about this." She mused softly, a slight smile coming to her face. It was just then that I noticed the chill of her fingers. I had originally attributed it to the fact that she had held a glass of iced coffee earlier, but now, I understood that it was from Ami herself, and not from any external source. It wasn't an aura of evil, or deviousness, as the implication of a cold hand would likely bring up as a connotation, but maybe just a distinct sense of apathy.

I gulped slightly before I spoke shakily, "What do you mean?"

"When I said that Minori didn't know about your feelings, I lied. She knows, but I don't care. I don't care, because I'm not going to lose you to someone who was content to sit around and wait for you to make the first move for months," Ami snarled as she spoke, her grip on my hand tightening as she did so.

I merely stared back in shock. Minori had known? Then why did she seem so happy for me when Ami had announced that we were dating? It didn't seem to be possible. After all, if the hints that I had constantly thrown her way weren't enough to prove my interest, then what was good enough for her? I know I had pined away for her affections for well over a year, but now I was really starting to question why exactly I liked her. Well, she was pretty, that much was true. But then again, so was Ami, in a different way. Different, but still good. And then, there was that enthusiasm of hers that allowed her to talk to me as easily as anybody else in class, and I supposed that I really appreciated such a gesture. But again, Ami did as well. She talked to me like anyone else. Actually, I guess I wouldn't say that, because she talked to me in a different way that she did with others. It was more candid, and it was more real than the normally superficial interactions she had with others.

All this time, I had built up a perfect image of Minori as an angelic figure who was happy to grace my existence with her omnipresent grin and easy manner of speaking. But while I had been doing that, I guess I had missed the way that Ami had more subtly been treating me, albeit, in her own style of insults and incisive comments. Would it really be so bad to just forget about Minori, label it a lost cause, and instead, take what was sitting right in front of me?

I briefly thought to myself, "What would Kyon do?" before I reached the conclusion that he'd probably curse both girls and go on with his own grumpy singular existence. I suppose that reaching for examples to guide me from anime wasn't exactly the smartest choice, given the lack of sound decisions that most protagonists made. I was conflicted, and yet, the choice seemed as clear as day. Ami was the one who had let her feelings be known, and frankly, I was starting to feel more and more attracted to her by the second as I realized exactly how shallow my attraction to Minori was.

"I'm happy with that." I admitted, allowing a sheepish smile to come to my face, "Let's give this whole dating thing a try."

* * *

Well, I can't say that I really minded the sight that awaited me when I entered the classroom the next day, just surprised. I had found myself enjoying my relatively quiet morning, augmented by the fact that I had not walked to school with Ami, despite the change in our relationship, which wasn't really all that different to the uninformed observer. It turns out that people weren't as interested in me per se, but in Ami and the fact that she had been hanging around me. It was a welcome change, although I suppose I was a bit disappointed at the realization that by myself, I wasn't a topic of much interest aside from the usual scared glances thrown my way.

But all of my disappointment was eased away by the sight of Ami in her summer uniform, which consisted of a short sleeved white shirt that she had conveniently left unbuttoned enough for me to glean a glimpse of her skin underneath, accompanied by a short blue skirt that left relatively little to the imagination. I will profess that, as a teenage boy, I had no ability to look away from her figure, even as I realized that I was staring a bit.

"Geez, Ryuu-chan, you're thinking of something dirty, aren't you?" Ami whined, hands flying to pull down her skirt a bit more to cover her legs, as if I were some sort of lecherous old man ogling her, which I wasn't! I swear, all I did was take a few appreciative looks at her shapely body!

Maya shook her head in disdain, "What a perv."

"Wait, it's not like that!" I retorted, putting my hands up in an attempt to make my point heard.

Thankfully, Sensei interrupted our conversation with a loud clearing of her throat, which served as a signal for us to take our seats, with Maya sweeping past me roughly as she returned to her desk. Geez, try being even more conspicuous with your dislike of me, why don't you?

"Rough day so far?" Kitamura asked as I slid into my chair, dropping my bag to the floor.

Gesturing to the brown haired girl who clearly had it out for me now, I shook my head in annoyance, "Why don't try asking Maya-san? I'm sure she'd be happy to tell you all about it."

Before we continue any more, Sensei spoke up, "Well, as you all know, the pool will now be opening for the summer, so let me start going over the rules!"

As she turned towards the board to write down some general guidelines that we had already gone over last year, the classroom erupted into side conversations, all of which involved the pool, which was a bigger deal than I'm making it sound. For the summer, it's really a nice way to get our exercise in, and for the guys especially, it was a great chance to sit back and enjoy the view. If this had been any other year, I would have been busy trying to think of a way for me to get the maximum coverage of Minori's swimsuit, but with my situation, she was currently the farthest thing from my mind.

"So, Ryuuji, are you looking forward to seeing me in a swimsuit?" Ami cooed, firing a flirtatious wink at me that instantly killed the spirits of several males in the class who had been discussing the best possible way to sneak glances at Ami's swimsuit.

"Well, I won't say that I'm not excited." I laughed, only helping to dampen their moods even more. Sorry, but that's the perk of being the boyfriend of Kawashima Ami.

She sighed, "Still, I'll be so embarrassed to let you see me in a swimsuit!"

At that, I heard the sudden crack of a piece of chalk being broken against the board at the front of the classroom and I curiously peered over to see Sensei's arm shaking furiously and the rest of her body frozen stiff. Feeling a bit concerned, I stood up from my seat and walked up to the front of the room, cautiously approaching the woman, who stood there, clutching the broken piece of chalk with trembling fingers.

"Say, Sensei, are you alright?" I asked, tapping her on the shoulder. In surprise, she jumped backwards and allowed the piece of chalk in her hand to fall to the floor, scattering small bits of white across the floor.

"Oh, Takasu, it's just you." She breathed in relief, as if she were expecting someone else. Who else could it be? I'm basically the only one in class who acknowledges your existence outside of the classroom, after all.

She swept a loose strand of red hair out of her face and allowed her faked smile to fade away, "I'm just a bit depressed by the fact that I'm twenty-nine, and I haven't even been in a relationship that's lasted for longer than a month. And then, I look out at all you kids, with all of your relationships, and to be frank, I'm a little jealous. I mean, come on, even you have a girlfriend, and not only that, she's an insanely cute model!"

Hey, what's that supposed to mean? Are you trying to say something with that thinly veiled insult at me?

"I mean, am I not pretty enough or something?" She finished, her shoulders slumping in defeat.

"Don't worry, Sensei, I'm sure that you'll find someone who will love you for who you are." I struggled, given that I don't usually console people in general, much less my teacher. Really, I'm just going off the lines I've heard from anime in the past at this point. Hopefully, she doesn't notice.

She smiled, her figure perking up a bit, "Thanks, Takasu. You're really the only one in this class who cares about poor old Sensei, huh?"

"You can count on me." I added, finding that to be the perfect place to cut our conversation off and to return to my seat, where Ami was eyeing me curiously.

"Normally, I would get jealous over you talking to another woman, but given that it's just Sensei, I'm not all that bothered by it." She informed me as I sat down, causing the sound of another piece of broken chalk to reverberate across the room.

* * *

"Do I really have to be here?" I drawled lazily as I passed by racks upon racks of swimsuits of various designs and colors, while a few curious women pointed at me and whispered, probably wondering why a high school boy was standing inside of the female section of the department store. I think I now truly understand the meaning of the word embarrassment, because that was the only possible way to describe my feelings right now.

Ami grinned knowingly, "Come on, don't lie to me. You're excited by the thought of seeing me try on swimsuits."

Well okay, that was kinda true. I was pretty interested to see what Ami would choose for her swimsuit, although I didn't have insanely high expectations due to the fact that the rules dictated that all swimsuits had to be pretty conservative and either in a shade of blue or black. I already had my plain black trunks picked out at home, and they definitely weren't anything to make someone double take.

"All right, here we are." Ami muttered, already delving into the wide assortment of one piece swimsuits. Not taking much of in an interest in what was sure to be a long process, I yawned slightly and looked out at the rest of the store, only to see Minori dragging Taiga towards the two of us.

"Look, I don't want any swimsuits!" Taiga complained as Minori forcibly pulled her along, seemingly oblivious to her friend's protests.

"Yo! Are you looking for a swimsuit too, Kawashima-san?" Minori asked, finally letting go and allowing Taiga to spring free, although the smaller girl made no move to leave the store.

"Well, this is the only store that sells any." Ami explained, before she raised her arms up, a swimsuit in each arm, "Say, Ryuuji, what do you think of these designs?"

"I think that they look pretty good." I replied, not really sure how she expected me to have any understanding of what would look good on her or not.

"Really? Then I'll go try them on to see if they fit." Ami informed me before she skipped off to the dressing room, leaving me alone with Minori and Taiga.

At Ami's words, I saw Taiga's face suddenly freeze for a second before it fell and she hung her head, crestfallen. Normally, I would have expected her to start some sort of argument over whatever trivial thing was on her mind at the moment with Ami, but something was definitely wrong, and it was clearly obvious to both me and Minori.

"Taiga, what's the matter?" I asked tentatively, prepared to be launched across the room with a kick. Taiga had a tendency to talk more with her actions than her words, and I was fully aware of that fact. But contrary to my expectations, Taiga had not moved an inch before she suddenly grabbed me by the wrist and pulled me into a dressing room forcefully, leaving a bewildered Minori behind.

"Hey, what was that?" I yelled as I nursed the bruise quickly forming on my head from being tossed headfirst onto the ground.

"Shut up." Taiga muttered, hands crossed over her chest. It was with that act that I found my attention suddenly drawn to that particular aspect of her figure. Instantly, the thought hit me, and I understood immediately why Taiga had seemed so upset earlier with the thought of shopping for a swimsuit.

I gingerly sat up and readied myself for an assault, "Don't tell me that…you're embarrassed about your chest?"

Well, that certainly wasn't the right question to ask because the next thing I knew, I was lying on my back in the middle of the store, with a few concerned shoppers standing over me and waving their hands back and forth in an effort to wake me up. At least that meant that some people had some decency to stop and help an innocent victim.

I sat up rather slowly, trying to regain my senses, although that was difficult with the room spinning furiously all around me. I swear that one day, Taiga was going to kill me with all of the concussions that she had given me so far.

"Ryuuji, are you okay?" Ami wailed, cutting in amongst the crowd and falling to her knees in front of me. It was nice to know that Ami was there to help me, and that would have been fine if not for the issue of how she was dressed. You see, she had evidently run straight out of the dressing room before she had a chance to finish, because she was still in her swimsuit, which looked extremely good on her, just so you know. Even with the fact that she could only choose a dull blue one piece swimsuit, she made it work in a way that only a model ever could. And that certainly wasn't doing my pants any favors.

"Yeah, I'm fine!" I replied overly enthusiastically, doing my best to stumble to my feet before Ami got any closer to me, causing her to get to her feet as well. She merely looked at me with a slightly confused look before she accepted my answer and immediately focused her attention on Taiga, her eyes narrowing and mouth forming into a scowl.

"That damn bitch." She growled under her breath, hands curling up into fists as her breathing shortened, indicating her current anger. Shit, this was going to quickly get out of hand if I didn't do something, and quickly.

I forcefully grabbed her shoulder as she made a move to turn, her destination obvious to me, "Ami, it's no big deal, really. It was my fault anyways."

Her mouth opened to protest, but quickly clamped up as she say the look I gave her, which I could only describe as a pleading expression. Yeah, I know, definitely not my proudest moment. But it got the job done, and realizing that she was still in public, Ami erased her frown and forced a smile to appear, "Well, if you're all right, then I guess everything's okay."

Relieved that Ami actually stopped herself before she inevitably clashed with Taiga, I let out a sigh of relief, a signal that the assembled shoppers took to mean that I was okay and dispersed, leaving me alone with Ami.

"Really though, are you all right?" Ami asked, noticing the red mark on my head, which she just had to touch. A piercing pain shot down my spine and I recoiled at her touch, causing her to frown once more, but this time, in concern rather than blind rage.

She pouted, "Jeez, that Taiga. She didn't even give me a chance to show off my swimsuit to you."

Oh believe me, I've already seen all that I've needed to see to give me mental images to last a lifetime. And they are definitely some pleasant images to think about.

"I mean, isn't it so cute?" Ami asked, striking a pose in front of me which I found to be vaguely familiar. Maybe she had done it before in a magazine or something?

"It's pretty amazing how good I can make such a dull swimsuit look, isn't it? Geez, I really am so fashionable." She added with a conceited air to her words, although I guess she had every right to be. She did make a relatively cheap swimsuit look like it was some fancy new designer article that belonged in a fashion show in Paris, and not at the school swimming pool in a rural Japanese town. She had a talent for modeling, there was no doubt about it.

"Yeah, I guess so." I laughed, more at her overly excited tone than anything else.

Of course, Ami didn't really perceive it that way, and she crossed her arms in an irritated fashion, "What's so funny?"

"Nothing!" I insisted, "It's just nice to see you get so excited about something without having to fake it."

Ami smirked, "Well, it's better than getting excited over scrubbing some floors, isn't it?"

Okay, that was a low blow. And besides, what was so wrong with me finding joy in my housework? Considering how often I tended to it, it would be remiss of me to not show some enthusiasm about cleaning. But still, point well taken.

"All right, you got me there." I sighed, not at all enjoying the triumphant look on Ami's face.

"Of course I do." Ami replied, as if it was obvious, "So let's pay at the cash register and walk home together."

Not that I wasn't really partial to the idea, because I definitely was, but weren't we forgetting something?

"What about Taiga?" I asked as Ami tried to pull me to the cashier.

Ami's nose crinkled in disdain at the mention of her name, "What about her?"

"Shouldn't we try to help her out? She is having some difficulty with finding a good swimsuit after all." I replied, stopping the both of us by planting my feet firmly on the ground.

Ami rolled her eyes, but once she realized that I had no intention of budging until she heard out my request, she groaned and let go of my arm, "Fine. You're lucky that we're dating, otherwise I would have already gone home on my own."

With a triumphant grin of my own, I watched as Ami walked back to the dressing rooms and callously ripped Taiga out of one of the rooms, holding her up by the scruff of her neck, as if the smaller girl were a cat. See, I knew that there was a heart somewhere inside of her.

* * *

**So, as you can see, I am somewhat following the timeline of Toradora, but obviously, some events are going to be changed for the sake of focusing on Ryuuji and Ami's relationship above all else. And for those who are wondering why I added the part of Ryuuji going up to talk to Yuri (at least, I think that's what the Sensei's name is. Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong), I think that having an adult other than Ya-chan involved in their relationship is going to add some interesting dynamics, so yes, she will have some more appearances in this story periodically, but not as a love interest or anything, at least not for Ryuuji. I want her to add sort of an educator's perspective on their relationship that should add more depth to this story.**

**Also, school starts for me next week, and my update speed might slow down a bit, so I just wanted to give you guys a heads up. I'm already struggling to finish this chapter with the amount of homework already on my plate, and I can't imagine it'll get any easier. Hopefully you guys will still stick with me through all of this!**

**Finally, please continue leaving your thoughts either in a review or PM! I promise that I'll get to all of the reviews from last week, but my schedule is just so hectic right now...Anyways, thanks for reading so far!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Sorry for the late update guys. I totally forgot that I was going to be at a volleyball clinic the entire day, so I didn't have a chance to update until now. Still, happy Labor Day, for those of you reading this on Monday! **

**As always, thank you guys so much for reviewing and keeping this fic going! Right now, Covers has safely passed Grind to enter the top 5 most reviewed Toradora stories, so I just want to thank you guys a ton for making that happen!**

**Guest: Yeah, well, I always thought about how different Toradora would be if Ami was the main girl, and I think that now, we're going to find out for ourselves!**

**Xayase: Thanks! Megumi is honestly one of my least favorite parts of Say I Love You, but I will admit that I do ship Megumi with Takemura pretty hard, so I guess that she's not all bad. Thankfully, there won't be a character like her to throw cogs in Ami and Ryuuji's relationship like that.**

* * *

Chapter 7

I watched as her eyes narrowed in frustration and her breathing hitched ever so slightly, causing her chest to catch for a moment before it continued heaving up and down in rhythm to her breathing. Her lips pursed and her brow furrowed as she entered into a state of concentration that I had never seen from her before, with her determination specifically surprising me, considering the circumstances. Her thin fingers moved back and forth deftly, threading the needle in and out of each available seam at a speed that frankly surprised me. Sewing and Ami just didn't seem to mix at first glance.

"Ouch!"

Maybe I spoke too early.

"Stupid needle, and stupid Taiga." Ami muttered under her breath as she returned to her torrid pace of sewing with a renewed fire, being rewarded by yet another accidental prick of the needle. I had wanted to step in and take over, considering that my work on Taiga's "enhancements" was already completed. But of course, Ami didn't want to solicit my help, instead choosing to stubbornly plug away at it until she finished. A part of me admired her persistence while another was worried sick by the fact that she was covering her fingers in tiny holes due to her inexperience.

It would probably be a good idea to go get some band aids now. Knowing that Ami was too engaged in her work to notice my disappearance, I got to my feet and hustled over to the bathroom, where we kept some of our medical supplies. I quickly snatched up some medical cream and band aids before I returned to the living room, nearly tripping over a sleeping Taiga as I did so. Speaking of stubborn girls, Taiga had refused to go back to her house, reasoning that "If the Stupid Chihuahua could stay up all night, then I can too."

Well, I couldn't really fault her for trying. Surprisingly, she was civil to Ami, probably secretly grateful for someone else coming to her aid, other than me. For someone who wasn't used to people taking concern for her, when usually she was treated as an object of fear, it was probably hard for her to come up with anything to say in particular, and thus, she stayed silent for the entire night, including dinner. While I was glad to have some peace and quiet for once, it was also strangely unnerving to see two of the loudest women I knew to be dead silent.

"Here," I offered, gently pulling Ami's hands away from her needlework, "It's for the cuts."

I squeezed out a little bit of the white substance inside of the tube of medical cream out onto my fingers and swept them atop of her digits, coating them evenly in white. Removing the white plastic with my teeth, I wrapped a band aid around each of her fingers, taking care not to wrap them up too tightly so that they were still comfortable to wear. All the while, Ami just stared at me with an absolutely shocked expression, her violet eyes wide in surprise.

"Oh, thanks." She said quickly, motioning to return to the needle, but I stopped her with a firm grip on her shoulder. I didn't normally use force when I talked to girls, but I knew that Ami, stubborn as she was, would not allow me to take her away from working on faux chest without me stepping in and prying it away from her by force. I knew that she wasn't going to be happy with my decision, but I didn't have much of a choice.

"I'll take care of the rest. You've done enough already." I spoke, cutting her attempted protests short. What was it about the girls that I knew and their absolute refusal to accept any sort of help?

"But I'm not finished!" Ami insisted, trying to break out of my hold, but I stayed rigid, refusing to allow her to budge prom her position.

"It'll only take me a few minutes to finish it. You, on the other hand, could really use some sleep." I chided, standing up and pulling her up along with me, not intending to allow her to interrupt me, as I invariably knew that she would try to. I know that we were dating for real now, but in that moment, I was seeing her with only eyes of concern. Easily falling into my familiar role as a caretaker, I escorted her to my bedroom, which was the only free room available at the time. Luckily, the futon had already been set up, and I had little difficulty with easing Ami under the covers, considering how utterly exhausted she must have been.

"You really wore yourself down for this. You must really care about Taiga." I teased, knowing that such a comment would get Ami flustered.

Unsurprisingly, she took the bait, hook, line, and sinker. She shook her head, "No way. I'm only doing this because I didn't want to see you working into the night alone. We both know that Taiga wasn't going to help you, you have school tomorrow."

I smiled. Although she would vehemently deny it, Ami did care about Taiga, deep down inside. The two of them weren't best friends by any means, but they also weren't the mortal enemies that they often painted themselves out as being. Really, they were between the range of being acquaintances and friends, but then again, neither one would ever admit that they slightly enjoyed the company of the other.

However, right now wasn't the time to pick a fight with Ami about this topic, "All right, I understand. Thanks for the help."

"Jeez, what would you do without me?" Ami sighed as her eyes shut, despite her best efforts to keep them open and to stay awake. Slowly but surely, her blowing slowed to a crawl, and I tilted my head in amusement at her words. Even when she was dead exhausted, she had a way of sneaking in her egotistical comments in every conversation.

I glanced at the clock and read out the time. Eleven thirty. Considering that most of the work had already been finished, it likely wouldn't take me any longer than fifteen minutes to add some last minute adjustments. For me, it wasn't going to be any problem.

* * *

Wow. All I can say is…wow. I mean, sure, I guess I was pretty satisfied with my handiwork on Taiga, but seeing Ami in a swimsuit just blows that out of the water completely. I was starting to regret not getting a better look at her back in the department store, especially since I knew that all eyes were currently on her, a fact that surprisingly made me feel a little agitated. I couldn't possibly be…jealous, could I?

Shaking the thought out of my mind, I turned my attention to Taiga, who was in a state of elation due to a compliment from Kitamura. It was definitely a surprising sight, with Taiga's face red in embarrassment and softly whispering to herself, a far cry from the normal fiery personality that she possessed. Deciding that I clearly wasn't going to get anywhere trying to talk to her, and not having much interest in swimming myself, I found no other choice than to go talk to Ami, who was chatting with her own friends.

"Hello, Takasu-kun." Nanako greeted softly as I walked up to their little entourage. At this, I discreetly raised an eyebrow. Why was she suddenly being so cordial to me? After last time, I definitely would have thought that I would be number one on her list of enemies. Oh, right, last time. I had almost forgotten that Ami had basically intimidated her friends into acting friendly with me. Well, I guess fake smiles from Nanako and Maya were better than nothing, even if it meant that they probably hated me, deep down.

"Oh, hello, Kashii-san." I replied, doing my best to be respectful in addressing her. Whatever animosity she had towards me, I genuinely did want to erase, and I suppose that not overstepping my boundaries would be the first step towards coming to some sort of understanding with her.

"Ryuuji, you look good in your swimsuit." Ami complimented, giving me a once over that suddenly made me feel extremely self conscious. Darn it, Ami, why do you have to put me on the spot like this? Instinctively, I wrapped myself up with my arms in an attempt to cover up my naked torso, although it wasn't doing much good.

"Y-yeah, you too." I managed, staving off a blush that was threatening to appear, both as a result of seeing Ami and as a result of being examined by three separate pairs of eyes at once. I had no idea how Ami dealt with this on a daily basis. Didn't she ever get uncomfortable during photo shoots, knowing that all eyes were on her?

"I know, right? I mean, obviously, I have good style, but to pull off a normal school swimsuit like I am is pretty impressive, even to me!" Ami gushed, absolutely failing in her attempt to not sound arrogant. Actually, never mind. It was pretty clear to me that she had absolutely no intention in sounding anything less than supremely confident in herself.

As I expected, Maya and Nanako nodded in agreement, showering Ami with the usual slew of compliments that streamed out of their mouths. I wonder if Ami was aware how much they were trying to suck up to her. Given how intelligent Ami really was underneath her cover as an airhead model, I wouldn't be surprised if she knew exactly what they were doing and allowed them to continue in spite of it. As with everything, Ami was one step ahead of the game, and she was steering things in a direction that would be favorable to her. You know, I was really getting the feeling that Ami would make a great villain one day, if that career path became available.

"So, Ryuuji, do you want to go talk somewhere else? I can't let my skin get sunburned or anything." Ami asked, pointing to her ivory skin to emphasize the seriousness, or lack thereof, in my opinion, of her predicament.

"Sure, they have some shade over by the wall." I suggested, pointing to a portion of the pool that had been barricaded from the sun with an armada of umbrellas. As we made our way to the safety of the shade, Maya ran off on her own, citing the fact that Kitamura was currently sitting alone at the edge of the water, a fact that was likely to change within minutes, given his popularity with the opposite sex. I gladly welcomed the change, because that meant that there was currently one less person who wanted to kill me in our group.

"I'm thirsty. Stay here, and I'll get us some drinks!" Ami ordered, rushing off on her own to complete her task while I stayed in place, knowing better than to disobey her words. Even for something as trivial as this, it was better not to test Ami's patience.

Realizing I was now alone with Nanako, I silently began sweating it out, not knowing what she would do when Ami wasn't around to exert her influence. However, after several seconds of silence, I came to the realization that she wasn't planning on taking advantage of Ami's absence, which surprised me. I had thought for sure that she would have taken the opportunity to try and scare me off or something.

Against my better judgment, I decided to speak up, "Well, aren't you going to say anything?"

Nanako looked surprised at my words, and a tiny bit confused as to what exactly I was saying.

"What?" She asked, totally lost.

"I mean, Ami's not around, right? Isn't this your chance to say how you really feel about me?" I continued, starting to get a little bit confused myself. Didn't she want to chew me out?

"Oh, right. You're a scary man and…" She trailed off halfheartedly, making a feeble attempt to look serious, but failing miserably at it. Strangely, I found that all of the fear I had once held of her was now melting away at the fact that she was, well frankly, rather harmless, now that I really thought about it. I had never really seen Nanako raise her voice at anyone in the past. Usually, she was just a bystander to Maya's more forceful method of dealing with others, without saying many words of her own.

"Do you not hate me?" I asked, causing her to nearly jump back in surprise at my sudden intrusion on her tirade that was more of a slight nagging at this point.

"W-well, you're scary, and I don't think that Ami should be dating you." She retorted, not really convincing me of her supposed anger towards me. In fact, I felt more of an aura of fear coming from her more than anything else, which was a step up from hating me, I suppose.

I scratched my head, "I don't try to be scary, you know. Believe me, I've heard it since kindergarten. It's just the way that I was born, and I can't help that I inherited my father's looks. And I don't want to be anything other than a normal guy, I really don't."

At this, Nanako's face fell and her mouth hung open for a moment as she grasped for something to say, before she settled on, "Sorry."

Well, it was nice to know that not everyone was deaf to my words.

"It's fine. I've dealt with this my whole life. What's two more years for me, right?" I laughed, making sure that I seemed as relaxed as possible. Really, I didn't want to scare off Nanako by seeming too engrossed in my own problems with fitting in. Once, being shunned by everyone had hurt me more than anything else, and I remember distinctly crying myself to sleep after the first day of elementary school, when no one wanted to play with me. But now, I was more or less numb to the way that people tried to carry on as if I didn't exist. They didn't want to make an effort to understand me, and I had no intention of doing the same for them. It wasn't perfect, but it was a solution.

She shook her head, "No, really, I'm sorry for thinking of you that way, when I really don't know you at all. I didn't mean to hurt you in any way."

"Really, it's no big deal." I insisted, trying to drop the topic, although it was apparent that she had no intention of doing so by the forlorn expression on her face.

"Let's just start over." She said, holding out her right hand, "Kashii Nanako."

I stared at her hand incredulously for a moment before I realized that she was waiting for me to reply. Giving her a thankful expression, I eagerly grasped her hand and shook, "Takasu Ryuuji."

"You know, I really don't mind that you're dating Ami, to tell you the truth." Nanako said with a shrug of her shoulders, "Actually, I don't know why, but ever since the two of you started going out, she's been smiling differently. Before, she always had a distinct way of smiling, like she was in a photo shoot or something, but lately, when she smiles, it feels different, like it's coming straight from her, and not from a magazine."

I knew exactly what she meant. Ever since Ami and I had kissed, I had felt her act differently around, not only me, but in public. She seemed less focused on making a perfect impression on everyone that she met, and instead, it was as if she was finally doing things for herself. It was natural and earnest, and I would be lying if I said that I didn't like it more than the way that she normally acted.

My smile morphed into a grin, "Kashii-san, you've been a good friend to her, and I really appreciate that. She could use more people in her life like you, who are concerned about who she really is, and not the popular image that the public knows."

"Oh, thank you." She replied, "Same for you."

"Hey, I didn't know what you wanted, so I brought you a soda!" Ami exclaimed, jamming a can of Coke in my face. I swear, she has a knack for showing up perfectly unannounced, and each time that she did it to me, I had a mini heart attack. Once I was convinced that my heart wasn't going to leap out of my chest, I gingerly took the ice cold can from Ami's fingers, allowing her to plop down in between me and Nanako, handing a can of tea to the purple haired girl.

Silently, the two of us exchanged a look that could best be described as one of understanding. We weren't friends, exactly, but we also weren't enemies. It was a relationship of mutual understanding that we wanted the best for the girl sitting in between us, one as a best friend, and the other as a boyfriend. I never thought that I would ever become acquainted with Nanako in this way, and yet, here was the reality of the situation, staring me right in the face.

"Hey, so Ryuuji, I was thinking that maybe we should start making plans for the summer." Ami mused as the three of us lounged around under the shade, watching our classmates play around in the pool. I couldn't help but to feel incredibly relaxed in that moment, watching as Kitamura and Minori ran around, dumping students into the pool while the sun beat down on us, with enough rays slipping the cracks of the umbrellas to keep me warm.

"The summer? Already?" I replied. Usually, I spent my summers at home, trying to help out as much as I could around the house and studying to keep my grades up. But now, it dawned on me that Ami was not the type to be content with just lying around all day, doing nothing. Personally, I always spent my summers at home because we couldn't really afford to go anywhere, not because I didn't want to.

"Yeah, I have a villa by the beach, and I was thinking that we should go." Ami explained, "Then we could spend the entire summer together!"

Instinctively, my face reddened at what she was insinuating, but I had to admit, it sounded like a good plan. I hadn't been out to the beach for a while, and I was sure that Mom would agree to it.

"Okay. I'll talk to my mom about it later."

* * *

"Ryuu-chan, I'm so proud of you!" Mom cried out, wrapping me up in one of her hugs that I found were impossible to escape, no matter how much I struggled. How was it that every girl I meet had an insanely strong grip? The chances of that happening were way too slim for it to just be a coincidence, as far as I thought.

"I already told you that we're going with everyone, so it won't just be the two of us!" I exclaimed, trying in vain to push Mom off of me, although I was met with absolutely no success. Again, I had no idea how she did it, but she was impossible to push off, no matter how hard I tried.

"Still, it's the first time you've ever had a chance to go on a trip with your girlfriend!" Mom added, grabbing on even tighter, if such a thing were possible. She nudged me softly with her head, "You know, when your Dad and I were dating, we did the same thing."

"Look, it's not that big a deal." I mumbled, not caring for the comparison to my bastard father. I know that she didn't mean it in a negative way, but still, being reminded that I was similar in any way to a man who would die and leave his wife and child behind to fend for themselves made me inexplicably angry. I knew that it was irrational. I mean, could I really expect someone to cheat death for their family? Of course, when I was a kid, I didn't really know better. All I knew was that he had left us, and that he was never coming back, and I remember feeling so angry about it that I saw red, and even though I know that it wasn't his fault that he was dead, I couldn't erase that feeling. Mom never told me how he died, and I didn't want to know.

"Right, but you can never be too prepared." Mom insisted, letting go of me so that she could reach under the table, pulling out a small package that she had apparently hidden there beforehand. Why she had such things already prepared for me…I didn't know, and I never want to know the exact reason why.

"W-wait, why do you have that for?" I stammered, feeling incredibly uncomfortable about what was to come. Look, I already knew all about the birds and the bees and all that, so I really didn't need her to tell me anything more about the topic. Call me naïve, but I wanted to keep my pristine image of my mother as a hardworking woman who wanted the best for me, and hearing her talk about…_that_ was not going to help matters.

"Well, obviously, I want you to stay safe!" Mom replied, as if it wasn't weird that she was supplying me with a boxful of condoms. I know she meant well, but come on, did she have to be so blunt about it? Anything would have been better than shoving them straight in my face and expecting me to take them with the unspoken agreement that they would likely be used.

"That's definitely not going to be an issue!" I said quickly. I mean, sure, I would mind doing _that_ with Ami, but then again, I was only seventeen! I had a whole life ahead of me to do stuff like that!

"Ryuu-chan, you can never be too careful!" She said with a pout that she normally used on her customers to get extra tips, or whenever she wanted me to do some extra chore around the house. And damn, was it ever effective.

"Fine." I grumbled, quickly snatching the box out of her hands and slipping it underneath the table so I wouldn't have to be constantly reminded of its presence. Believe me, I couldn't see it, and it was still making my brain hurt just thinking about it.

"So, let's talk about Ami-chan more! She's such a nice girl!" Mom continued, plowing ahead with an admirable amount of excitement, which somehow made the transition back into conversation that much easier, although it was still slightly awkward for me to just return to conversing normally. In an attempt to bridge the gap, I took a sip of water, doing my best to try and move on to the next topic.

"Well? Do you think that you two are going to get married?" Mom asked, causing me to spit out my drink.

* * *

**So? What did you guys think? I don't remember a whole lot about Nanako in the original series, so if she already has an established character, then it looks like I'm making her to be rather OOC, which I didn't intend to do. However, with the fact that Ryuuji will come into more contact with Nanako and Maya as this story goes along, given that they are close friends to Ami, I thought that it would be important for him to establish some sort of relationship with both of them.**

**Please, I hope you guys will continue reviewing and will deal with my slower update speed! I think that from now on, Fridays are probably out of the question and that Sundays or Saturdays will be more likely days for my updates in the future. Still, I hope that you guys will read on and help me with my goal to reach the top of the Toradora category! Thanks so much for reading!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Please forgive me for my slowness in getting this out to you guys! I've really been getting overwhelmed by school, so it's really forcing me to change how often I can write. Also, I love writing out responses to each review, since they all mean a lot to me, but for now, at least, I'll have to catch up on my replies, since replying to each one is a bit time consuming. Hopefully, you guys can forgive me for that as well!**

**Zallow: Don't worry, this isn't a story I plan to drop anytime soon. **

**Hopefully, you guys will still enjoy this chapter!**

* * *

Chapter 8

I've never been one for mornings in the past, but today was different from the thousands of mornings I had woken up to before in the past. As my eyes fluttered open, courtesy of the beams of sunlight slipping in through my window, I felt a distinct energy fill my veins. It was an energy that could only be described as the excitement that only a free man can feel. Or, in my case, it was the effect of the first day of summer, which I had already been looking forward to already for obvious reasons. But when I remembered that I was going to be on a train to Ami's beach villa in less than a few hours, I found that the combination of both excitement and nervousness was enough snap me out of a sleepy trance immediately.

Within minutes, I had myself entirely dressed in attire appropriate for the beach, which included a loosely buttoned shirt and shorts, and was ready to leave my familiar house for the next few weeks for the beaches and sunsets of Ami's beachfront villa.

"Mom, I left the fridge stocked with some premade meals, and I wrote down the instructions for feeding Inko-chan down on a piece of paper." I lectured towards my mom, who I doubted was actually listening to anything I was saying, if the way that she was struggling to keep herself awake was any indication. She swayed back and forth uncontrollably as I finished putting on my shoes, taking care to run through the list of chores I had done the night before to make things easier on Mom while I was out of the house.

Just as I was about to open the door, I heard an urgent knock reverberate through our house. Not bothering to check the tiny peephole of our front door, I unlocked the door and opened the door to reveal Ami, who was dressed in a red top paired with dark black shorts that revealed a great deal of her long and slender legs and a trendy looking snapback cap that made her seem both extremely fashionable and, at the same time, casual in her attire.

"Good morning, Ryuuji!" Ami greeted, giving me a wave before noticing the presence of my mother, "Same to you, Ya-chan!"

"Good morning, Ami." I replied, doing my best to keep my eyes on her face and not on the other parts of her that I desperately wanted to stare at. As I had come to expect from her, her attire made it hard to look away from her, as hard as I tried my best not to.

She glanced at leather watch that hung loosely around her thin wrist, "Are you ready to go? We'll miss the train if we don't leave soon."

"Yeah, I have my bags all packed and I was just going over some last minute instructions with Mom." I replied, nodding towards the bags that I had placed by the front door.

"Have fun, Ryuu-chan!" Mom cried out, latching onto one of my legs and preventing me from stepping forward.

"All right, Mom." I replied as she reluctantly loosened my grip, allowing me to break free and hop out of the door with my bags in tow. I waved goodbye as Mom yawned once and proceeded to collapse into a pile of blonde hair, asleep before her head had even touched the ground. Normally, one would have been concerned by such an action, but after years of witnessing it from my mom, I had come to find it a normal occurrence and thus, was not concerned in the slightest about leaving my mom passed out at our front door. Actually, I was more worried about her waking up in time for work more than anything, but at this point, there was not really much use in thinking about it much more.

Right now, the only thing that was on my mind was the upcoming summer and the time that I was going to spend with Ami and her friends. While I had wanted to invite along Kitamura, Taiga, and Minori initially, I didn't really have much say in the matter, and for some reason, Ami had refused to allow any of them to come along. I mean, sure, I understood why she didn't want Minori with us, especially after the talk we had shared back in the café, but I was a bit perplexed by her additionally barring Taiga from coming with us. With Kitamura, she had not expressed any unwillingness to allow him to come, but he had graciously declined, citing the fact that he didn't want to leave Taiga and Minori alone for the summer while also giving me a sly wink and a few mouthed words of encouragement. Why was it that everyone assumed that Ami and I were going to do _that_?

Well, it wasn't all bad, I supposed as we arrived at the train station to find that Maya and Nanako were already waiting for us. Maya was dressed in a dark blue top paired with white shorts that showed off her physique, along with an expensive looking pair of sunglasses balanced on her forehead. Meanwhile, Nanako was dressed more conservatively than her other friends, with a simple summer dress that was decorated with a floral print. Honestly, I wasn't surprised at all by her choice of clothes. Over the course of the few weeks I had known her before summer break started, I had found Nanako to be a little less… volatile than Ami or Maya, I suppose was the best way to put it. She was consistently more level headed and prudent than her friends, which I was grateful for because I couldn't imagine dealing with another violent or unstable girl. Having Taiga, Minori, and Ami all in my life was frankly already more than I could handle.

"Good morning, Ryuuji-san." Nanako greeted with an inviting smile that instantly brightened my day. Thank God for giving me at least one person who was so pleasant to be around. I know I have already said this, but Nanako was really a breath of fresh air from my rather hectic life. It's hard to believe that I had actually been afraid of her at one point, but I guess that's how life is. Just when you think you know someone, they throw you for a loop and you're presented with a brand new image of who that person could be.

"Nice to see you, Nanako-san." I replied with a friendly wave and making my best attempt at a natural smile, although from the way that Maya recoiled a bit, it hadn't come out exactly the way I had hoped for it to. At least Nanako seemed unfazed, merely nodding along with her same expression, no change in her countenance at all.

Ignoring me, Maya skipped up to Ami energetically, "Yo, are we ready to go? The train's boarding about now." She said, pointing the doors of the train, which were hissing open, almost on cue with Maya's words.

* * *

The first hour of our trip passed by quietly for the four of us. Maya spent her time flipping through a fashion magazine lazily, only occasionally stopping on certain products before moving on lackadaisically. Beside her, Nanako silently read a novel that she had apparently brought along. I couldn't really make out the title due to her hands covering it, but apparently, it was riveting from the subtle ways that I noticed her expression changing, with slight nuances that allowed me to deduce how the plot was progressing. Beside me, Ami was on her phone the entire time, sending out texts with a cool efficiency that made me a little bit awed at the way that her phone was constantly buzzing, with that being the only sound to break the silence aside from the occasional crinkle of a page.

"Say, does anyone want to come get something to eat with me?" I asked, standing up from my seat and stretching out, feeling the popping of some of my joints that had been cramped by my seat. Mostly, I was just desperate to find something to break the monotony of the train ride thus far. There was only so long that someone could stare out the window before he or she got bored of it. I had neglected to bring along something to read, and my phone wasn't ringing every five seconds like Ami, so I was up a creek without a paddle at this point.

"Yeah, sure." Maya grunted, setting down her magazine and climbing out of her seat, apparently just as eager as I was to escape the silence of the compartment. Frankly, I was surprised that she was the one who had decided to join me, but finding no further responses from Nanako or Ami, I was left leading Maya into the dining car alone, just trying to understand exactly what was going on.

We slipped into a small table that was smashed up against the window of the train, apparently meant to offer diners as close of a view of the Japanese countryside as was possible in the limitations of a train. I awkwardly drummed my fingers against the white tablecloth of our table, trying to hide my anxiousness, but to no avail. The truth was that I had seen the way that Maya could mercilessly rip into hapless students all throughout middle school, and I didn't want to be subjected to the same treatment by her.

"Would you stop that?" Maya snapped at me, an annoyed tone to her voice. Well, there goes my plan of being discreet with my nervousness. Now it was perfectly on display for her to see and attack as she saw fit.

"Sorry, Kihara-san." I apologized, deciding to grab a menu to take my mind off of the fact that I was sitting across from someone who I knew did not care for me in the slightest, which was actually a lot harder to do than it sounded.

"Seriously, stop that." Maya repeated, another level of anger rising with her comment. At this point, I was definitely feeling a bit more intimidated than I already had been, if that was even possible.

"Sorry, Kihara-san." I apologized again.

That certainly wasn't the right thing to say because before I knew it, Maya had her hands slapped onto the table and a vicious sneer was displayed on her face, "Stop being so formal." She snarled, attracting the attention of the other diners, but evidently, she did not care, as she made no move to back down, "It's uncomfortable."

"O-okay, Maya-san." I stuttered, doing my best to keep my heart from bursting out of my chest from how hard it was beating. Jeez, why was it that every girl at our school could raise my heartbeat like that? I swear, it was like dealing with a testy pack of wolves every single day of my life. Between the violent way that Taiga often greeted me, to the antics of Ami that seemed to only be worsening my reputation, if that was even possible at this point, I have no idea how I hadn't suffered a heart attack yet.

"That's better." She sighed, seemingly satisfied for the moment. With that, she sat back down into her chair, pushing herself back into her original position, running a finger through her hair to restore it to its original state, after it had whipped around wildly during her outburst.

"Seriously, what's your problem?" Maya snorted as a terrified waiter came up to our table, quickly taking our orders for two Sprites before dashing off so that he would not have a chance to incur the wrath of Maya.

"What do you mean? What is your problem?" I replied, shocked at the way that she could just ignore her own actions, "Weren't you being a little extreme back there?"

Maya chewed her lip thoughtfully, having not decided on a response just yet, "Okay, I guess that I was being a little bit harsh on you."

"A little?" I laughed incredulously. However I classified her explosion at me, there was no way that I could call it being just a little harsh. Okay, maybe by her standards, it was, but frankly, getting practically yelled at in front of a bunch of terrified passengers wasn't exactly putting me in the best mood, which explained my unusually snarky remarks.

"All right, I'm sorry." She said with an annoyed roll of her eyes, "I just don't like it when people call me by my last name, all right?"

Swallowing my own irritation at her tone, I decided to reply as cordially as possible, despite my overwhelming urge to stand up and desert my seat, along with Maya, because honestly, she deserved it, "And why is that?"

"Look, I don't have to tell you anything." Maya answered quickly, crossing her arms across her chest, just as the waiter returned with our drinks, quickly placing down before he snuck away without another word. He could definitely tell that tensions were high, and I didn't blame him for wanting to get away as quickly as possible. If I were in his shoes, I would have done the same.

"All right." I nodded, standing up to leave. If Maya didn't want to talk to me, then I was fine with not knowing every detail of her life. I had not known them up to this point of my life, and I could easily live the rest of my life without knowing any more about her.

"Wait." Maya interrupted my departure with her words, "I'll talk to you, if you want."

Arching an eyebrow in interest, I stopped in my tracks and turned to face her, making no effort to hide my curiosity. She was gently stirring the straw of her drink, while light was refracted by the ice cubes floating around in the bubbly liquid, casting spectacular rainbows all over the previously ordinary tablecloth. I eased myself back into my seat across from Maya, who actually seemed surprisingly docile.

"Sorry, I'm just not used to people wanting to hear me talk." She said tentatively, almost as if she were testing the waters with her words, ready to jump out if my response wasn't one that she desired.

I shrugged, "Well, that makes two of us."

Maya seemed shocked for a second, whether it was due to my words, or just by the sheer fact that I had responded, I don't know, but quickly, she caught herself and her surprise melted away, before it was replaced by something completely different that I couldn't quite put my finger on. It was a mixture of both fond remembrance and also a distinct sadness. Perhaps nostalgia was the best way to describe it, with a hint of melancholy dashed in.

"You know, I used to ride in trains like this all the time when I was younger." She told me, looking up at me with rust colored eyes that seemed to be more vulnerable than I had ever remembered them appearing. I noticed as she tightened the grip she had on her glass as she continued to recount her memories, "My dad was a businessman, and me and my mom used to go with him on a lot of his trips. I always looked up to him for the longest time, up until one trip that we took to Kyoto. I was around six or seven at the time, and I was wandering around our hotel when I saw my dad with another woman. I didn't know it at the time, but it turned out that he was cheating on my mom, and when she found out, it took them no time before they decided to divorce."

I nodded along slightly, faintly sympathizing with her. Now that I thought about it, I couldn't ever remember seeing Maya's dad at any school events. Her mother usually showed up, and I remember thinking how nice she was in comparison to her daughter, but I never really thought about it beyond that.

"I guess I never really forgave him for it, and ever since then, I've hated it when people call me by my last name, since it forces me to think about that bastard and what he did to my mom." Maya finished, her anger building with every word that she spoke.

"I understand." I replied, "I hate hearing that I look like my dad. He left me and my mom behind, just because he couldn't quit his lifestyle and it got him killed. He had us, and it wasn't enough for him to stop messing around in dangerous business. Because of that, my mom has to work twice as hard as any mother should, and I've been forced to grow up without a father. I can't, no, I won't forgive him ever for that."

Maya seemed legitimately taken aback at my words. No doubt, she had no idea who I actually was, much like most of the students at our high school. However, suddenly, she smiled softly and chuckled, "Isn't this so weird?"

"What do you mean?" I asked, completely baffled as to why she was finding our situation funny. If anything, I would have expected her to be dead silent from the heavy topics that we had just been discussing.

Maya stopped her light laughter and shrugged, "I was just saying that I never expected to share my secrets with someone like you. I've never told anyone else about this."

I paused, "Then why did you tell me?"

"I don't know," Maya admitted after a stagnant silence, "I guess that you seemed like a good listener. I mean, if Ami can open up to you, I thought that I could too."

"I get it. It's hard to find anyone who cares, let alone, wants to listen." I answered in agreement with Maya's words, which actually reflected my own thinking, surprisingly. It was hard to discuss anything so personal with someone who had not experienced the same thing, which I guess explained our willingness to reveal our secrets. Despite our general animosity for each other, Maya and I were kindred spirits in a way, who were connected by our shared experiences.

"When did you get so smart?" Maya muttered to herself softly, shaking her head in disbelief. Hey, are you trying to say that you don't think that I'm smart? Sure, I don't have grades at the top of the class, but I'm far from being in the bottom, and I definitely outscore you on all of our exams!

"You know, I can't help but to feel insulted by that." I mumbled. I'm not going to lie and say that I wasn't at least a little bit peeved by her comment, because I definitely was.

"Don't. I didn't mean anything by it." Maya replied, although the edge to her voice definitely told me that she wasn't being one hundred percent honest with me. Still, the fact that we were even at this point was incredible enough.

Before I could reply, I felt a buzzing in my pocket interrupt our conversation. Quickly, I fished out my phone from my pocket and flipped it open to find a text from Ami. Leave it to her to have perfect timing, even when she was just using her phone.

"Mind bringing me a can of juice?" I read aloud, grateful that I had an excuse to get away from Maya. This was just too weird for me to fully comprehend, and I really needed a moment to take it in. I mean, with Nanako, I actually wasn't too surprised because she was at least a more placid girl, but with Maya, someone who I knew to be more open in her disdain for me, well, all I could say is that I was surprised that she had chosen to even talk to me in the first place.

I stood up from my seat, getting the attention of the waiter, who quickly ran off and returned with a can of juice for me. I reached into my pocket and slapped some money on the table to pay for my half, nodding to Maya as I motioned to leave.

"Hey Takasu," Maya said as I reached the exit, "Thanks."

"Don't mention it." I answered before I opened the door to return to our compartment, reeling from Maya's surprisingly civil gesture.

* * *

"Thanks, Ryuuji!" Ami said with a wink as I handed her the juice that she had requested, with tiny drops of moisture trailing down the sides of the ice cold can. I plopped down into my original seat to her left, watching as she popped the top of the can and took a deep drink, obviously thirsty from the way that she that she was hungrily imbibing her juice. Not that I was staring at her or anything. Don't get me wrong, it's not like I didn't want to stare, or anything! You know what, let's just forget what I said.

"So, Ryuuji, what were you and Maya doing for so long?" Ami asked me as she set down her drink and phone, turning her full attention towards me, evidently done with whatever she had been occupied with earlier.

"Not really anything." I answered, mind already flashing back to our conversation, which was not easy to put out of my mind. Although I wouldn't say that it made us friends or anything, nor did it have even the same sort of effect on our relationship that my initial conversation with Nanako had, I knew that something was now changed between us, as the keeper of each others' secrets. I had never imagined that such a thing could have happened between me and Maya in a million years, especially when I thought back to the way that she had shunned me back in middle school, and yet, here I was, someone who knew about her life almost as intimately as she did herself.

"Oh all right." Ami nodded, seeming to have accepted my answer. Honestly, I was expecting her to be more suspicious of me, knowing her personality, but I wasn't going to complain about her lack of questioning.

After a pause, Ami grinned and inched up to my ear, "So, are you excited to see me in my swimsuit? I brought along something special for this trip."

Did I forget to mention how good of a girlfriend that Ami was? Immediately, I glanced out the window, silently cursing as I saw absolutely no sign of the beach. This trip was definitely going to be one to remember.

* * *

**So, did you guys enjoy my take on Maya's history? I thought about what made her into who she was today, and I came up with the idea that her father was absent, which would make her bitter and more like the fiery and strong willed girl that I always saw her as. But then again, I can totally understand if everyone else saw it differently, so please tell me, do you think that my take on Maya makes sense? **

**Also, I really do want to apologize once more about how long it took for this chapter to come out, and I wish that I could promise that the chapters will return to their original speed of uploading, but I can't guarantee anything. For now, if I don't update for a week, assume that I will be coming out with a new chapter the week after, okay? **

**Thanks so much for reading!**


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